A/N: As a warning: this chapter will again include a mention of abuse. As usual, I'll repeat the warning when we cross that bridge.
Secondly, I'll try to make the trials a bit funnier – and I hope I pull that off – because there's so little to enjoy from fourth year on.
Enjoy!
One and a half week later, Henry finally gave green light to wake Harry up from his induced coma. They all cheer for a bit, and Sirius, Remus and Jane stay in the room, to be there when he wakes. It takes several hours, and Sirius is getting more and more nervous.
"Are you sure nothing is wrong?", he asked for what must have been the millionth time.
"He's taking all the time he needs to wake up. There's no sign of anything going wrong," she repeated for what felt like the millionth time, checking his vitals again.
"But you are checking his vitals so much- "
"To reassure you. Truly, it's just a lot- "Jane trailed off. She smiled. "Looks like he's coming round," she said, moving to a corner. She felt like Harry and Sirius needed some time together. As such, she gave them some room.
Indeed, fifteen minutes later, his eyelashes moved a tiny bit.
"Harry?", Sirius asked hopefully.
And there it was. Harry opened his eyes, squinting against the light. She quickly adjusted the dimmer.
"Mpf," Harry tries to say something, but he's still a little stoned. And his throat is probably dry, because of the just an hour ago removed tube to put him on the ventilator. He sighs, closes his eyes and opens them again. "Sirius?"
It sounds feebler and weaker than she'd ever heard him. But it's there. Harry woke, spoke even, recognised someone he recently met. All good signs.
"I'm here, Harry," he says, squeezing his hand. It takes all Jane had not to run up to his bedside.
Harry looks around, while Sirius gently places the glasses on his face.
"Remus," It sounds more like a content sigh then a statement.
But Remus chuckles softly. "What, you thought we were going to leave you alone? I was only just able to stop Padfoot from curling up at your feet."
"Hey now!", Sirius protests. Jane smiles a little.
But Harry frowns, until he spots her in the corner.
"So, I did see you," he states feebly.
"Well, yes. You know me; you need one strong herbicide to get rid of me, not stopping to come see me."
He snorted.
"Do you remember everything?", Sirius asks softly.
There's a strange tone in his voice.
Harry nods, and shift uncomfortably.
Jane's eyeing the monitors.
"Harry?", Sirius prompts softly, as Harry turns away.
Shit. A nurse comes in, but Jane barely notices it. She steps forward, towards the monitor.
"Harry?", Remus asks concerned.
For Harry just started to gasp for breath.
"Easy there!", Sirius exclaims, sounding shocked. "Shhh, breath. Just breath. In with me, out with me okay?"
Jane moves up to the bed as an alarm sounds, and she looks at the monitor. Her eyes are switching between the monitors and Harry's arms, where veins start to pop out.
"Shit," she whispers so softly they don't even hear it. Oxygenation dropped below eighty percent, as another glance at the monitor teaches her, and as she looks back to Harry, his eyes roll back.
"Harry!", both Sirius and Remus shout at the same time, shocked.
"Nurse!", she says forcefully, gesturing to the two off them. She needs them out of the room.
The nurse shuffles them out, and Jean, who stood guard before the door, comes to her help.
More alarms start to screech. Heart rate's up, blood pressure's dropping, she notices.
"Get me a chest tube!", she commands the nurse, setting the IV drip as open as she can and administering some painkillers.
She grabs a scalpel from the table and makes a swift incision, just below the second rib. Taking over the chest tube and putting it in place, she watches the monitors as the oxygenation comes up again, though not as high as she would like.
At some point in time, Henry had come walking in.
But more importantly right now, blood pressure is still dropping, heart rate at 130… And as she looked down at the chest tube, she shaw her fear confirmed: the fluid coming out of it was not clear, but reddish. Blood, she thought. But how?
They eye each other, and she sees him curse. Then he turns to the nurse, rattling off medicines she should administer, to get his blood pressure up, and ordering a chest X-ray.
He gestures for her to come outside with him, and so she does.
"Gather the team," she orders quietly. She stares at the room were Sirius and Remus are waiting.
Henry nods. "Are you sure you want to do this alone?"
She nods, without averting her eyes. He walks off without another word.
Stopping before the door, she takes a deep breath, before entering.
"You!", Sirius screams. Before either she or Remus can react, he punches her on the nose, and she falls back. Instinctively, she reaches for her nose. As she withdraws her hand, she sees blood.
She doesn't even react when Sirius comes towards her again, but Remus does.
"Sirius! Enough!", he says forcefully, in an uncharacteristic harsh voice.
"She stabbed him!", Sirius yells back.
Remus holds him back, his arms around Sirius. "She saved his life!", he says over and over again, while Sirius continues to struggle.
"She- ", Sirius stops struggling abruptly, "What?", he asks weekly. "Oh no… Jane? Jane, I'm sorry- "
Jane stares of in the distance.
They are interrupted by Jean, who comes bursting through the door.
"What's all this noise?", he asks. Noticing Jane on the floor, he asks: "What happened?"
Jane blinks sluggishly. "I tripped over the carpet. Sirius tried to catch me and hit me on the nose by accident. I kind of zoned out a bit, so they were probably panicking a bit. But I'm fine, really."
The look on Jean's face says he doesn't believe an ounce of it, but he nods, helps her up, heals her nose, and leaves.
"I'm sorry," Sirius repeats sincerely.
"As am I.", she sighs, lowering herself in a chair. "I didn't realise how this would look like in your eyes." As a pureblood, it was unlikely that he knew a lot about muggle medicine.
"So, what happened in there… He was waking up. I noticed his sats were dropping – the amount of oxygen in his blood. When I came closer, I noticed the veins in his arms were popping. Both are a sign of elevated pressure in the thorax. Two likely causes: heart tamponade and pneumothorax. I leaned towards pneumothorax, because of the other symptoms – low blood pressure, high heart rate, and medical history."
"What in the world is even a pneumothorax?", Sirius asked bewildered. Remus was frowning concerned.
"Well… you have the lungs, and in order to breath, they need to expand. So, the lungs follow the movement of the ribs for that, and between them are the pleura. Kind of a sack of some kind. This only works well if there's nothing between the pleura and the lungs. When something does come in between them, it's called pneumothorax."
"But how did he get it?", Remus asked thoughtfully. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought they only occurred after major trauma?"
"Most commonly then, yes. Why it happened, we are going to discuss with all necessary specialists. Meanwhile, you can go back in, on the condition you leave when we ask you to do so."
Both men nodded, and she went to join the experts.
Unfortunately, the discussion with the experts was not really enlightening, so far. Half an hour in, and all they had achieved was that Jane wanted to strangle every single person – except Henry – in the room. They thought her too young and inexperienced, and it was getting on her nerves.
"I truly do not see your point," the lung specialist said. She had forgotten his name.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't see yours either. You seem to think this pneumothorax is spontaneous, but he's not smoking, he doesn't have COPD or any other related risk- "
"He has been ventilated," the man interrupted her.
Henry frowned. "Perhaps, just to cover all ground, we can explore the idea of it not being spontaneous?", he suggested.
"Then what could it have caused?", the pulmonologist asked sceptically.
Silence rang in the room. "Well, if it's caused by something, it probably has to do something with his fall," Henry said reasonably.
Jane breathed in sharply as realisation struck her, and she started rummaging through reports until she found the right one.
"But why now?", the pulmonologist asked.
"Because we are idiots," Jane said, having read through the entire report. "This is Harry's lab results from his blood on the day he was admitted. Look at this – anaemic, short on several vitamins, short on platelets."
"Yes, and?", the pulmonologist asked impatiently.
"The one thing that is actually not below scale, are his white blood cells."
Henry nodded. "They are normal- "
"Except they aren't. They are in the standard range, but what if they were elevated from their mean?"
"I'm lost," the pulmonologist admits.
"It's simple. Consider a malnourished patient, with too few red blood cells and platelets. It's logical to assume his white blood cells are lower, too. But if that patient has an infection- "
"They will appear normal," Henry said softly.
She nodded. "We saw what we wanted to see."
"You mean to say he has been battling of pneumonia all this time?", the pulmonologist askes bewildered. "How could we miss that?"
"How would we have noticed, with Harry sedated and on ventilator? He would not be able to feel the pain that comes with it. The trouble with breathing was solved by the ventilator," she replies, thinking hard.
"But things like fever- "
"Are not uncommon after the major trauma he suffered," she replies.
"And then it passes, and we thought nothing of it…", Henry asks.
Just then the nurse knocks on the door with the result of the chest X-ray.
The three of them stare at the pictures for ten minutes.
"I think the three of us need to talk to the family," the pulmonologist concludes.
"Let's go find them, Jane.", Henry says meaningfully. "We'll bring them to the waiting room."
The pulmonologist is barely out of sight, when Henry turns around. "You know that, legally, the call is yours, don't you?" Her shocked face tells him she didn't. "Since the Dursleys obviously can't get involved, Sirius nor Remus has any official rights, and you are emancipated."
She groans mentally.
Jane's still pondering on the subject when the five of them are gathered in the waiting room.
The pulmonologist – god, what was his name again, she thinks - clears his throat. "So, we think we found the reason for his pneumothorax. You have been explained what that is, correct?"
Sirius and Remus nod.
"Right. The X-ray show considerable damage to the right lung. There are two possible causes: pneumonia, or something – most likely a bone shard – punctured the lung. Given the fact that the damage was not there when he was brought in, there are no broken ribs, and there are no bone shards visible, we concluded that pneumonia was the most likely cause. The fluid that comes with infection probably leaked through the lung, into the space between the pleura and the lung. That caused an increase of heart rate, which in turn caused a small blood vessel to rupture."
He pauses, and both Sirius and Remus nod again.
"Now, for the course of action. That's a bit of a problem. We can start him on broad-spectrum antibiotics: they will kill off most bacteria known for causing pneumonia, especially if we give more than one. However, the cause could be viral. In that case the antibiotics will not help. We have asked the lab if they could figure that out for us, but the results will only be here tomorrow morning at earliest."
"Is that a problem?", Sirius askes concerned.
They exchange glances. Jane finally answers, rubbing her tired eyes. "Yes. We can start him on antibiotics anyway, blindly, so to speak. If we are wrong, however, we'll do more damage than good. Normally, the side-effects are well tolerated; but Harry has been severely injured for quite some time, on top of this infection. He has weakened considerably. Paradoxically, giving him antibiotics will increase the risk of another infection, combined with the side-effects. * However, if we do nothing, and it is bacterial pneumonia, it will not get better. And here's the problem again how weakened he is."
"Isn't there something else you can do?", Remus asks reasonably.
"We can remove part of the lung, where the infection is," Henry replies. "But then again, it's a though surgery, with high risk – especially now."
"Another danger is that the germs from his lung spread through the blood. This is called septic shock, and I'm afraid that Harry would not survive that.", the pulmonologist continues.
Sirius pales visibly. "That bad?"
They all nod.
"So, what do you suggest?", Remus asks, unsettled.
The two older men look at each other, and say nothing.
"I suggest we give antibiotics anyway," Jane says calmly. "The blood results from when he was admitted suggest bacterial infection, because certain types of white blood cells are elevated." Both other doctors nod. "And for the rupture of the blood vessel: the bleeding is under control with medicines. It's probably not necessary to perform surgery. If his condition takes a turn, then we can re-evaluate."
"You mean to say you could have noted the pneumonia before because of the white blood cells?", Sirius says, frowning, trying to keep the accusation out of his voice.
"In hindsight, it's easy to spot. Back then… I think we had to few indications. He doesn't display all typical symptoms, and his white blood cells without infection are below par. But with it, they appear to be in the normal range. That's why no alarm bells rung," Jane replies calmly.
Both men nod. They exchange a glance. "Do it," Sirius decides after a while.
And so, they do. The fear for septic shock remains. Jane decides to go sit with Sirius, Remus and Harry, knowing full well if he displayed symptoms, it wouldn't matter enough to make a difference. But she had to do something.
He was knocked out again, but not in a come – more like a peaceful slumber. Jane sat behind her piano, and decided to play don't leave me this way, followed by Please don't go, hoping that somehow, he would hear and understand it.
It turned out to be bacterial pneumonia, and the antibiotics made a huge difference. After three days, they exchanged the ventilator for oxygen. Harry was a nice patient; he didn't nag, wasn't demanding in any way. His only problem was that he downplayed his pain and discomfort.
Jane tried to sit with him as much as she could, since, despite her protest, Sirius was behind bars in France again. Remus came by as much as he could, too; bringing stories about Harry's parents. She always made her excuse when he came; Harry had noticed she hadn't said anything about them being family, and he had voiced his displeasure loud enough. Luckily, when she visits, they play piano. Harry had apparently heard her play, come or not, and he had decided he wanted to learn it. And, as he had explained to her, it was something he could easily do sitting.
But he was improving rapidly. And that was good, since both the trial against his relatives and the trial against Sirius were rapidly approaching. Due to boredom, he had taken a course to become an assistant of lawyer; he could now plead cases for a court, although accompanied by lawyer.
First of August was the day for Jane, who had followed the same course and would assist Peter in the trial against the Dursleys. They had been officially charged; therefore, when a call from the prison they resided in came, it was a surprise.
"Are you sure you want to do this?", Henry asked – a little anxious. Jean was driving, of course; the rest of the team had stayed with Harry. He was under the impression Jane would be doing some shopping. She had not wanted him to know. There was no need to torment him with that knowledge.
"What do you want, Dudley?", she asks minutes later. It was he who called her, and yet he had said nothing, except for a greeting.
"How is… Harry?", he asks hesitantly.
"He'll live," she replies shortly. Jane tried to keep in mind he was just a child, raised with wrong believes. But on the other hand, so had she; and yet she had not proceeded to become a Death Eater. She knew it had taken a lot of will power; was it wrong to blame people who didn't have that will power? Or was that just something human?
Warning of child abuse
Dudley nods a few times.
"He was running… Dad was in a bad mood. He had called for Harry to come make some tea, but Harry didn't come at first. That didn't improve his mood… And Harry came running by, and I sort of… I sort of always try to make him trip at the top of the stairs, just for fun…"
Jane nearly bites her tong off to keep herself from saying that some things aren't jokes. Instead, she just nods in encouragement.
"Normally, he evades… But he didn't he just fell and then all of a sudden, he was at the bottom of the stairs and I was screaming like mad, hollering… I – I don't actually remember well what happened next…"
Shock, she thought. At the broken look in his eyes, she feels a flash of sympathy.
"And then I- I heard Dad say that we should hide him, that he would be fine on his own accord, and then we have hidden him in the cupboard for some days, but sometimes we could hear him, and then… I suppose wanted him out of there when you came."
She nods. "How long?" She has to ask. She has to know.
Dudley bows his head. "Three days."
She closes her eyes. Jane can't imagine what it must have been like, alone in that cupboard, alone with the pain... "Why are you telling me this?", she asks, as she opens her eyes.
For the first time, Dudley looks her in the eye. "I want to testify against them. In order to continue with my life, I need to be punished for this. I need to come to terms with it; that I nearly committed a murder."
Technically, even if Harry had died immediately after impact, it would have been manslaughter at worse. An involuntary one at that.
She eyes him. "For what it's worth: I think you're doing the right thing."
After that, she gets up and leaves.
There are limited people in the court room. There's a Ministry representative from the Wizengamot – luckily not Dumbledore, but Malfoy is not much better – Judge Lawrell, Sirius with his guards, Remus, and of course Harry and Jane with Peter and Henry.
"The court is now in session. In consideration is a matter of custody of Harry James Potter and criminal charges of extreme neglect which could have caused death against his former guardians, Vernon and Petunia Dursley; along with charges of assault against their son and common assault by Vernon and Petunia Dursley**. Bring them in.", Judge Lawrell rattles off.
The Dursleys have, of course, an expensive lawyer. He had protested against Dudley being there, to no avail.
The criminal charges were not a lot of work.
"Mister Potter, come sit here, please," the judge orders. "I want you to take the oath."
"I swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God."
Harry explains what happened on the day of his fall, his story very much the same as what Dudley told – only not as detailed after his fall. Unfortunately for the Dursleys, the Judge also asks about his home life before that. What they hear is not endearing, to say the least: starvation, hard physical labour, mental abuse or some terms that spring out of it.
"Good," she concludes, after his testimony. "Cross-interrogation, attorney?"
Luckily, the man declines – perhaps he realises he won't win anything with it, as a hard questioning of a minor will not endear the judge. He'll probably give everything with the testimonies of the Dursleys.
Vernon takes the oath, and not even a minute has passed before he starts lying. "The child is so uncareful. But of course, we do not leave him without care. He only is afraid of doctors, and as such he hides his injuries. Now you mention it, we didn't see him for quite some time. He's also mentally deranged, always telling stories…"
He goes on and on.
"Mister Dursley," the judge interrupts sharply. "Do you have anything else to say that hasn't been said already? No? Then your testimony is concluded. Cross-interrogation?"
"Yes, your honour.", Jane says, rising from her seat. "Mister Dursley, are you certain that you never left an injury unattended to?"
"Off course," he replies gruffly. Veins are swelling in his neck already.
"Permission to approach the witness, your honour?"
"Granted."
"This is a report of previous injuries, established by Doctor Henry over there. Would you read the conclusion on page 6, please?"
"… Several broken bones have not set themselves properly. The remaining damage limited the child in grow. The child was no fed enough to grow sufficiently. His red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are below par. The effects will likely not disappear entirely."
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?", Jane asked quietly.
"It's all lies!"
She thanks him for his answer.
Petunia Dursley tells much the same tale as her husband. Jane doesn't even bother with a cross-interrogation. They had their chance to redeem themselves, and they didn't take it. But then it's Dudley Dursley's turn.
"What happened that day, Dudley?", his lawyer asks him quietly, smiling to encourage him.
Dudley averts his eyes. The room is quiet for a while.
Then, he looks up, straight into Harry's eyes.
"My Dad wanted Harry to make tea. He asked to come to the kitchen. Harry must have missed it the first time around, and Dad was getting impatient. It just… Seemed fun to … you know, make him trip. Usually he avoids it, but that day he missed it and he fell. And then my parents decided to 'let nature take its course'- "
"You honour!", the shocked lawyer comes in between. "The child must be confused! I think it's best to leave him alone. I protest against his presence here."
Jane gets up, too. "Your honour, in all respect… There's no proof of Dudley's supposed confusion. I find it remarkable that just because he agrees with my client, he shouldn't testify- "
"Enough, both of you!", the judge interrupts. "Dudley, do you realise what this means?"
He nods.
"Then please proceed."
Dudley confirms Harry's story for nearly all parts. His father is glaring at him, but interestingly enough, his mother doesn't. She stares at him as if she has never seen him before. Then, as he ends his testimony, she smiles at him tearfully.
Perhaps she realised her actions were wrong after all, Jane thinks. But she should have stepped up long ago. She had her chance, and she didn't take it.
"Cross-interrogation?", Judge Lawrell asks Jane.
She pauses for a second, then nods.
"Dudley… You confessed some crimes here. I would like to know why you did that?", she asks the question that has been bothering her since yesterday. Based on the look on Harry's face, he wonders about the same thing.
"I… I did something truly wrong. Before… Well, I wasn't nice. But Harry- Harry was not even angry, not even after I made him trip. It's such a strange thought, it just made me feel really bad. I think, to be able to go on with my life, I need to be punished. My parents need to be punished. We wronged Harry severely, and… I would just like to apologise, but that sounds so empty."
Jane nods a few times, in thought. "Thank you, Dudley. No further questions," she says. He reminds her of her younger self, when she had just escaped the Death Eaters. She had fully expected to be charged; after all, she had helped them commit countless crimes. Hell, she had helped them murder people. They used to let her ring the door bell, crying about an accident. As the people opened the door more, gesturing for her to come through, the Death Eaters would jump on them. But here's the thing: she had helped to arrest the Death Eaters, she had risked her life to steal documents out of offices to know who their next victim would be, in order to alert the Aurors. They had explained her she had been a child, held hostage; as such, the crimes she committed were not held against her.
Dudley's turn on his parents was not as dramatic, but it meant he would lose everything: his parents would go to jail, he would end up in a foster family or an orphanage, he wouldn't be a rich, pampered prince anymore. Didn't he deserve a second chance?
I think he deserves a second chance; Harry thinks clearly. He included her in his mental shield. That way, she could hear his thought without being exposed to all who was in the building. She nods almost imperceptibly.
"Does anyone wish to say anything else?", the judge asks calmly.
Jane stands slowly. "Miss Davidson?", the judge asks.
Exchanging a glance with Harry, she starts: "I hope you would consider an alternative punishment for Dudley- "
"Ah!", her opponent exclaims. "So that's it, yes? You tricked my client's son into lying, by saying he wouldn't be punished. You bribed him!"
She turns slowly to face him. "Oh? But if nothing happened like you claim, why would he be punished in the first place? And if he wasn't to be punished, how could I bribe him? More interesting than your unfounded allegations, the one time we did discuss this, was in prison. There's CCTV from that encounter. And I urge you to keep your unfounded nonsense for yourself, please and thank you!"
Judge Lawrell looks displeased. "Next time, only speak of your allegations if you have proof," she says harshly. "Please finish explaining, miss Davidson."
"As I came to say: Dudley doesn't deserve years in prison. He's a minor with wrong ideas, who made a severe mistake. But despite his parents attempt to not let him take responsibility for that, he did take responsibility. He has shown regret. He has shown he is willing to improve his behaviour."
"Then what do you suggest, miss Davidson?"
"There's a mental facility, for people who have suffered in abusive homes. They always seek volunteers; just as emergency departments in hospitals. That way, we are sure he knows the effect of what he has done.", she replies.
The judge is silent for a while.
"Here's what we will do. Mr and Mrs Dursley, you are guilty of contempt of court and physical and mental abuse of a minor, entrusted to your care. -"
"We didn't even want him!", Vernon roars.
"Quiet," the judge interrupts. "He was in your care, mister Dursley. If you thought he was not rightfully there, you could have contacted court. You could have dropped him at an orphanage. You had options. You chose not to act upon them, but also not to take up the responsibilities that come with having a minor in the house. You spoiled your son, as we heard both from the victim, as from your son himself. A doctor has confirmed that there are detrimental effects on the minor's health. Not to mention the mental damage. And even when the facts are thrown in your face, you choose to ignore them. Not to mention your despicable way of acting after Mr Potter's fall. I hereby sentence you, Vernon Dursley, to forty years imprisonment, for the extreme neglect of a minor, possibly leading to death, common assault and contempt of court***."
"You can't do that!", he screams. He lungs at Harry, but Jane's faster, punching him hard on the nose. The guards haul him away; she sees the sad looks in both Petunia and Dudley's eyes.
"Mrs Petunia Dursley. The same goes for you. You saw what your husband did, and you did nothing; the opposite even, you did the same yourself! I want you to think hard on this: what would your sister say?"
"I'll never know that, because of him!", she screeches, pointing a finger to Harry.
"No, Mrs Dursley. You had a chance to get to know your sister, but you pushed her away. Her son didn't have that chance. He has no memories of her, because a madman murdered her in front of his eyes. You feel sorry for yourself, but you fail to realise: he has suffered more. I sentence you to thirty-five years, Mrs Dursley. I have hope for you. I'll allow your son to come see you, should he wish so."
"You can't keep my son away from me!", she screeches.
"I did not do that. You did," Judge Lawrell replies.
And Petunia is hauled away.
"Dudley… You are lucky mister Potter decided to step up for you. You will volunteer at this mental facility and the emergency room of a hospital. You can choose the latter. We will find you a foster home. I want you to think carefully, Dudley. You have been granted a second chance. Do not throw it away, or you will find yourself in jail. I want you to serve there four hundred hours in total, and you'll keep the court informed of your progress. Is that clear?"
Dudley nods. "Thank you… Your honour," he mumbles.
The lawyer leaves the court with a 'we will not leave it at this', but Jane can't bring herself to care.
"Now, we have mister Potters custody to consider, haven't we?", the Judge asks kindly. "I see quite some candidates. You, sir, introduce yourself please.", she says, pointing at Sirius.
"I'm Sirius Black," he says, standing.
"Mister Black, have you been cleared of charges?", the judge asks calmly.
"No, your honour."
"Do you wish to claim guardianship when you are cleared?", the judge asks.
"I would love nothing more, but I believe Harry needs continuity. I can't care for him now. It wouldn't be fair to him."
The judge nods a few times. "I agree, mister Black. Sit down, please. Who are you?"
Remus stands. "I'm a friend of the family. I used to be good friends with James Potter."
The judge nods. "Then, do you wish guardianship?"
"I'm a werewolf, your honour. I can't give Harry what he deserves," he says sadly.
The judge nods with an unreadable expression on her face. "Other candidates?"
Jane waits patiently, and as expected, Lucius Malfoy rises.
"I'm Lucius Malfoy. I married Narcissa Black, a first cousin of Sirius Black. It would be our honour, to give The Boy Who Lived a house and a home, alongside with my son Draco Malfoy."
The judge looks a little sour. Jane knows she hates Malfoy with passion; her first cousin died in the first war, at the hands of Malfoy. She didn't take it very well when he didn't receive any punishment.
But Remus Lupin and Sirius Black get up, too. It's Remus who – unsurprisingly – takes the lead. "Your honour, although we are unable to take custody, we sought out other candidates. We found a family in the Light, who are willing to take care of Harry Potter and pledged an oath on Magic to take care of him the best way they can, and to protect him."
"And what do you think of this, mister Black? I don't want to repeat this scene in a week," the judge says.
"Your honour, I have an agreement with this family that states that if I'm found innocent, I'll have visitor's rights. But Harry would remain in their care. They think – and I agree – that Harry needs continuity in his life."
The judge looks at him, and nods again. "And who is that family?"
Silence in the room. Jane feel her heart beating faster. This is the moment, she thinks. Either her plan will work, and Harry will have a family; or she is going to have to break him out of the clutches of the Malfoys. She will not leave him with them.
Henry slowly stands. "That would be me and my daughters, your honour," he speaks calmly – at least on the outside. Jane knows him well enough to spot the little signs of stress. Confusion rolls off in waves from Sirius and Remus.
For a short amount of time, Jane prays for a miracle. She is not afraid of what might happen then and there, but of what could happen later. How long would it take Malfoy to get in touch with some old palls and arrange an attack? Not long, she is willing to bet.
But no such luck.
"Your honour, surely you must see reason. Mister Potter and I are family, I can not allow him to stay in the hands of some stranger, clearly vulnerable for an attack."
"That could of course not happen with you mister Malfoy, after all you already got under the influence of the Imperius curse once, meaning your susceptibility to it is widely known," Jane retorts, anger flaring.
"Mister Malfoy, mind your tone. I have my own free will and my own ideas, and they might differ from yours. Miss Davidson, mind your turn to speak.", Judge Lawrell reprimands.
There's a moment of silence.
"Mister Davidson, how are you and mister Potter related?", the judge asks slowly. She knows the answer, of course; but she can't just go blabbing on old cases.
Jane slowly makes a stand; all eyes are on her. "Harry Potter is my cousin."
* This is because antibiotics kill of the "good" germs that live in our intestines and skin; therefore, there is less competition between "good" germs and "bad" germs, allowing the "bad" germs to take the overhand. That is only one of the reasons why taking antibiotics when it isn't required, is dangerous.
** Common assault is when person a encourages violence (unlawful violence) against the victim, committed by person b (here: Vernon and Petunia encourage Dudley to use violence against Harry). I'm not 100% sure I'm using the correct charges here; I am no lawyer and only used Wikipedia as background here.
*** Lying in court is a crime, that falls under this charge. Or at least, that's what I hope.
Also, I'm no doctor. I'm not guaranteeing this is without mistake, though I did my best to minimize them. ALL OF THIS IS DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.
Don't leave me this way: The Communards
Please don't go: KC and the Sunshine Band
All credit to the respective bands.
And I apparently, I got the family ties mixed up. Cousin can be used for both males and females. A niece – in English – is the daughter of a sister or brother. I apologise for my mistake, and I will correct it.
Next update will hopefully be in the week of 18 July. Thank you for reading!