The Riot

This was a hard chapter to write. Not only because of technical difficulties (tablet froze repeatedly, changed my words around, still not sure if I caught all the spelling errors!), but also because our bad guy, Scabior Sr gets taken care of. Werewolves at the Riot!

Friday morning

It had been a long, busy week. Scabior knew why, though. His brothers been trying to keep him distracted from missing Hermione too much. They had seen each other every morning and evening as she came and went through the Floo. They would sneak a kiss here and there but nothing further. They knew it was best to not start something they couldn't finish. He had been talking to his mated brothers and he knew he was ready for the next level of their relationship. He knew from Potter that her training was almost over. Soon she would be an intern, not a trainee. Mary had been asking how she felt about midwifery and Fen had said it couldn't hurt having another healer in the family.

A week earlier

Harry Potter stormed into the Ministry that Monday morning. He went directly to the Minister's office, Ron on his heels. Barely waiting to be admitted, he strode to the huge desk, put his hands on it and said firmly. "I want Scabior, Sr. on trial as soon as possible! I'm sick and tired of the man trying to kill my sister and her boyfriend. How can I get his trial fast tracked? We have all the evidence we need! Why hasn't he gone to trial?!"

"Harry, he's a member of the Sacred Twenty Eight families. They aren't going to lightly send one of their own to trial. If you want it fast tracked, you need to get some of those families on your side!" Shacklebolt told him.

"The Weasleys might be poor but we are Sacred Twenty Eight. The Potters are, too. Malfoy, Flint, Pucey and Zabini could get their families behind them, I'm sure. He tried to cause a ruckus at the Riot. That's reason enough for them." Ron said.

Harry nodded in satisfaction. Shacklebolt rubbed his brows. "Ok, you talk to all of these families, see what they say, if they know anyone else. If you can bring me a good sized list of names, I'll put him on the court docket as soon as possible."

They nodded and left to begin their investigation. Harry knew, as the last of the Potter family, how he felt. They both knew Ron's family would back them but they needed to speak to the owners of the Riot. They went to the bar, not expecting them to be open yet. To their amazement, it appeared as if a restaurant had taken the place of a bar. But the same four bartenders were here.

"A restaurant? Thought it was a nightclub." Harry raised his brows.

Zabini laughed at him. "At night, it IS a nightclub. Daylight hours, however, turn it into a restaurant."

Flint nodded at them. "Potter, Weasley. What brings you gents here?"

"As you may or may not know, Scabior Sr was recently released, then promptly remanded back into Azkaban. He tried to kill Scabior and Hermione, again. We want to get him on trial. We have all the evidence we need but Shacklebolt says it'll be extremely difficult to convict him, being as he's Sacred Twenty Eight. He said the only way would-." Harry began.

"To get enough families on your side. The Zabini family will back you, Potter."

"As will the Flints." Marcus put in.

"My family will gladly back you, Potter." Said Aidan.

"Never let it be said the Malfoys didn't do their part. You have our backing. Talk to Millicent Bulstrode's father. I believe three of the young ladies kidnapped were some kin to them." Draco drawled lazily. Harry nodded, knowing where his next stop was going to be.

By the end of the day, they had the Malfoy's, Flint's, Zabini's and Pusey's. But they also had the Bulstrode's, the Parkinson's, Greengrass's, Chang's and Patil's. Through Narcissa Malfoy, they had the backing of the Black family. They weren't sure about the other families. They knew Dolohov had died at the battle as had Bellatrix Lestrange. They couldn't swear about the brothers, however. They were almost certain Rowle was dead or in Azkaban. Maybe Yaxley, too. They realized they hadn't really paid attention to which families had survived the war or not. But surely they had enough names now.

They apparated back to the Ministry. To their surprise, Shacklebolt was still sitting at his desk, doing paperwork. They walked in and dropped the list on his desk. As a broad grin spread across his face, he turned a few of the documents to face them. All that was required was their signatures as the arresting Aurors on the case. The whole time they were running around collecting support, he'd been cutting through the red tape with stunning efficiency!

"I managed to get him on the docket tomorrow, he'll be the first one up. I convinced a few members of the Wizengamot that they really didn't want this loose cannon, running around muggle neighborhoods causing rackets and kidnapping their own daughters for nefarious reasons." Shacklebolt looked very pleased with himself. Then he turned serious. "I'm not going to lie and tell you everything will go as planned. Even if he's convicted, they still might only imprison him for life. You know prisoners have ways of getting things done, even behind bars. At best, we'll ask for the Kiss. At worst, you might have to keep protective measures on Hermione and Scabior for as long as the old man lives. You know being in prison won't stop him from trying to kill them." Harry and Ron looked at each other and shuddered at the thought of trying to tell those stubborn lovers that they might never be rid of their bodyguards!

They left the Ministry shortly after that. On the way to Grimmauld Place, they were still struggling to find a way to break it to the lovebirds that they might never be rid of Scabior Sr. Hermione and Parvati, for once, had beaten them home and, along with Ginny and Janet Granger, were busy preparing supper. Harry didn't want to spoil her happy mood but he needed to let both her and Annemarie know about the upcoming trial as they might be called to testify. He had already caught both Scabior and Greyback at the Cauldron and invited them over.

When the two showed up, everyone was happy watching Hermione and Scabior together. After supper was over, Harry called everyone to the drawing room. It was the biggest room in the house and Hermione felt a sense of déjà vu. It was like being called to an Order meeting or a DA meeting at Hogwarts.

"Ok, we all know, by now, Scabior Sr. I've called this meeting to let you all know that he will be brought to trial in the morning. He's the first one on the court docket. Shacklebolt pulled some strings of his own. We have enough evidence to put him away but we are hoping it will be the Kiss. We THINK we have enough influential families backing us to press for the Kiss. The reason being," he looked at Hermione, the one more likely to go off the deep end! "We will never be able to drop the security measures. Even behind bars, he can and will find ways to either try to have both of you killed or just basically be enough of a nuisance that we have to keep you two guarded, for the rest of his life."

"What?! Do they know everything he's DONE?! Abandoning Scabior, kidnapping those girls, using the Unforgivables multiple times and trying on several different occasions to KILL his own son and heir!" Hermione shrieked, causing Scabior to wince and unobtrusively cover his ear briefly. Greyback had to cough to cover his snort of laughter. Scabior playfully glared and poked at him. Harry's lips twitched briefly before he continued speaking.

"Scabior, we'll need you, Tom and Greyback there. Hermione, we'll need you and Annemarie as well." Harry sighed, wishing this whole thing was already over and done with. "The trial will start at eight. I'd like to have all of you settled in the courtroom before then. They have all of our memories but some of you may be called to clarify certain events."

As the meeting wound down, Hermione and Scabior slipped off to the kitchen. They were glad of the unexpected opportunity for a visit but upset about the reason for it.

"Is this ever going to be over? I'm tired of having to be followed everywhere. I just want to find a dark corner, somewhere we can be alone, just the two of us!" Hermione sighed with discontent.

Scabior held her class and kissed her behind the ear. "Soon enough, sweetheart, soon enough. I want to take you somewhere, by ourselves, when your training is done. Take a week, gone camping, hide away from everyone! Sound good?"

Hermione smiled brightly. "I can barely wait!"

They held onto each other right up until they had to go their separate ways. Hermione had an early morning test to do before she went to the Ministry and Scabior went back to the Leaky Cauldron with Fen and Tom.

The next day, Harry was waiting anxiously for Hermione to arrive at the Ministry. She ran in breathlessly, the test having taken slightly longer than expected. They headed to the elevator and went to the courtroom level. The trial was about to start. They hadn't brought in Scabior Sr yet. As Harry and Hermione settled into their seats, he was brought in and chained to the seat in front of the judges. Looking around, Hermione realized that, even during all the Death Eater trials after the war, she'd never seen this many of the old Wizarding families in the same room. The old man was looking over at her and Scabior, a silent snarl wrinkling his lip.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic. Let's get this trial underway, shall we?" he banged the gavel to show the official proceedings had started. "If anyone has read the papers lately, you all know the various charges against this man. Shall we begin with the charge of child abandonment/endangerment. How do you plead to this charge?"

"Not guilty. It wasn't a CHILD I left, it was a monster! My child died on the playground!" the old man snarled angrily,

"Did you or did you not offer up your heir, repeatedly, to Voldemort during the war?" the minister asked, frowning at him.

"Not guilty. I offered him an animal to use for fodder! Do you really think I'd allow a WEREWOLF to inherit my title, my estate?!" he shouted, jerking against his restraints.

"You kidnapped thirty young girls for the express purpose of that 'werewolf' marrying and producing an heir for the continuation of your line. How do you explain that?" Shacklebolt questioned sternly.

"Whoever said they were all for him? He only had to choose one. For that matter, whoever said they were for him at all? I have a barren wife, a filthy werewolf for a son and no other relatives. Maybe they were there for me to produce a proper heir of my own. Ever think about that?" he taunted.

"That brings me to another, more serious charge. You used the Cruciatus curse on your son, then you used the Imperious curse against Miss Granger to try and force her to kill your wife. How do you plead?" Shacklebolt looked at the old man.

"Guilty as hell! I wanted that little animal to suffer and I WANTED that little bitch dead! The stupid little mudblood fucked it up and he got the better of me while I was distracted!" he laughed gleefully.

"After you were released on house arrest, you then broke out, went to Miss Granger's house and tried to kill her. Your son and friends of his showed up and the two of you fought. Then you were sent back to Azkaban. What say you?" Shacklebolt frowned at the gleeful tone.

"Prison bars will NOT stop me! She will not dirty up our line! If a filthy werewolf has to produce the next heir, it will at least be with a pureblood wife! I'll kill both of them and my barren wife before I let a mudblood into our family tree." He screamed so violently, he was frothing at the mouth.

Shacklebolt looked around at the spectators. The old man wasn't helping himself as much as he thought, he was actually digging his own hole deeper. The old families were shifting around and muttering angrily amongst themselves. Shacklebolt banged the gavel and made an announcement. "You all know the charges against this man. You have all seen the memories and now we have heard his own answers to those charges. We will now convene for two hours. When we return we will pronounce the verdict and announce the sentence." He rose and left the room. The judges left behind him. Various representatives of the old families followed them.

"Mudblood! Oi, mudblood! You better hope they choose to kill me! You're number one on my kill list, ranked above that filthy animal who calls himself my son! After that is that barren wife of mine!" At that, Fen and Tom had to catch Scabior as he lunged forward, snarling angrily. The man laughed wildly, knowing how furious the boy was by how loud the scuffling was. Fenrir was angry enough by now to want to shred the man himself. "You better lock that Mudblood up and throw away the key, Potter, if you want her to live! You think they'll do anything to me?! I'm Sacred Twenty Eight, boy, they'll not do anything to me. I fucked three of those girls, one of them is bound to be knocked up, can't keep the father in prison, aye? You're pathetic, every last one of you, thinking you can actually get rid of ME!" he taunted.

"Don't let him rile you up, boy!" Fenrir growled into Scabior's ear. "He's just looking for a reaction, you know he is! Don't let him know he's getting to you! Just ignore the bastard!" Scabior, breathing heavily, sat back down and wrapped one arm around his mother and the other around Hermione.

Soon the Minister, followed by the judges and representatives, came back in, much sooner than two hours. He banged the gavel to quieter everyone down. The eldest judge stood up, sheet of parchment in his hand. "We, the Wizengamot, with the full permission and back of most of the scared twenty eight, do declare Malawi scarier guilty of all charges. We declare his sentence to be the Dementors Kiss Friday morning at eight am. Final judgment!" Shacklebolt banged his gavel again. The courtroom was dead silent. Scabior Sr, shocked that all his pulled strings had failed to save him, was absolutely speechless as he was led from the courtroom.

The room slowly began emptying out until it was just their small group. Scabior wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel now. He'd hoped for the bastard to receive the Kiss for years but now that it had been officially sentenced, suddenly he felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Harry and saw the same sick look that he was sure was also on his own face.

"I'm sorry, Scabior. I wish things could have gone differently for the two of you. Damn, I was hoping he'd relent and make peace with you." Harry laid a hand on Scabior's shoulder.

"It would have been nice. He didn't have to make me his heir again. All I wanted was for him to, at least, want to talk to me without trying to kill me!" Scabior ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"Well, if it's not too much bother, I'd like to keep the guards on you two until next Friday. By then all his henchmen will have been tried as well. I'll only feel easier about both of your safety if they are squared away, too." Harry told them. Hermione nodded. She now saw why Harry had been so worried. After the attack on her parents' house, she wasn't going to argue with them, for a while anyway.

The group all took the day off and went back to Grimmauld Place. It was a quiet rest of the day. After watching the trial and hearing the sentence, nobody felt like being very lively. Harry was dreading Friday morning. He knew Hermione would want to be there for Scabior and Annemarie. Deep down, he was still hoping for a reconciliation or at least a civil conversation between the male Scabior's. He knew Scabior wanted to talk to his dad one last time, if for no other reason than to, ask him why the man always blamed him for getting himself bitten. 'Surely the man should have known a nine year old child couldn't have fought off a full grown werewolf, didn't he?'

As for the dad, surely he didn't want to die with all of this unresolved business with his son. He had to feel something besides hatred for the boy! Maybe knowing how short of a time he had left to live would spurt the man into action. As the day faded into night, Scabior kept expecting to wake up from this nightmare. Surely, that's what it was. After years of wishing the man dead for abandoning him, suddenly he wanted him to live now. His dad, even with all the harsh punishments and disciplines growing up, had still been his hero. Even to this day, deep down, he still yearned for the man's approval.

After the werewolf attack, Fenrir and Tom were his heroes. Fenrir for rescuing him and teaching him how to become one with his wolf each month. Tom just for giving him food and shelter and, above all, not chucking him into a children's home. Without those two men, he definitely would not be alive today!

Wednesday morning came early. Fen and Tom had gone home. Scabior had stayed the night with Hermione. Now, laying there watching her get ready for work, he tried to get himself into a better frame of mind. "You'll be done with your training soon, yeah? Maybe we can go away for a week, maybe two afterwards?"

Hermione smiled softly at him. "I know a particular forest that's very beautiful this time of year. Maybe we could take a trip back there, create some better memories."

Scabior smiled. The forest of Dean held a few good memories and one memory in particular for him. He remembered that night, catching the strange scent. He'd nearly driven Fenrir and the other Snatchers bonkers, talking about that scent. Then Hermione and the boys, popping into the middle of their camp like that. Chasing her, Harry and Ron, capturing them, finally finding the girl whose scent had been driving him up the wall.

"Meeting you there, darling, was the best thing that happened in that forest. But we can make even more memories there, if you want. Just let me know and we'll be on our way." He watched her approach the bed. She sat beside him and stroked his hair.

"Two more weeks, hang on for two more weeks, then we'll go." She kissed him, then left for work. He laid there a few more minutes, then got up and got himself ready for work. He went downstairs, spent a few minutes talking to his mother, then he went to the Cauldron. Fen had Tom were at the bar, his brothers were scattered about the room. Even though his dad had officially been tried and convicted, they still wanted to make sure, like Harry, that his henchmen ere also taken care of.

"You alright, boy?" Fenrir asked quietly. Scabior leaned against the bar. "Why do I feel so attached to him, all of a sudden? I hate him, Fen, l have for years! Now, I hate the thought of him dying! Why?!" he felt anguished over this. 'The man had abandoned him, ignored him for years on end, offered him up as a sacrifice and repeatedly tried to kill him.'

Fen sighed. "Because it's too final. You've lived for years with him in your past. No contact or anything, mind you, but always there. Something for you to focus on not becoming. Now, he's going to be there but not there. No more fights, arguments or attempts to kill you. He'll just be a shell that used to be your dad."

"My mum will never be free of him, will she? Unless he breaks the bonds before the Kiss. She'll never be able to marry anyone else." Scarier felt sick to his stomach, realizing his mother might be tied to a shell of a wizard for the rest of her life, or until said wizard died and freed her.

"Actually, his infidelity would have broken the bonds. Unless, of course, the fidelity runes were just on her rings, not his. Wouldn't they, Fenrir?" Tom wondered.

"The runes of fidelity would have been on both rings. There's no way to enter even a simple marriage bonding without it being on both rings. So, yes, his infidelity would have been enough to break the bonds between them. Of course, she would have to go to the Ministry for confirmation." Fen said. Scabior let out a sigh of relief.

The rest of the week passed too quickly for him to keep up with. Soon the day dawned. Friday. Scabior still hadn't managed to reconcile his feelings of hate with the newfound feeling of sorrow for his dad. He opened his eyes, staring at the same ceiling he'd woken up to for past thirteen years. There was a pecking sound on his window. He got up and let the owl in. It was just a plain brown owl. It held a letter in its claw. He gave it a couple of treats as he took the letter. Expecting it to be from his mum, Hermione, Harry or even Fen and Mary, it wasn't. It was a simple sheet of parchment, folded in threes. It was from his dad. How the man had gotten it mailed was beyond him, but there it was. He was almost afraid to read it. Finally he took a deep breath and opened it up. It was just a few sentences but, surprisingly, it was enough. Enough for him to finally be able to remember the good parts AND the bad parts of the man. Of course it wouldn't be a Scabior letter if it didn't have a few insults thrown.

"Oi, wolf!

"Congratulations are in order! You are, after all, my heir. The estate is yours now. Don't fucking lose it or sell it! Don't touch my study! My portrait is already painted and hanging in there, with a permanent sticking charm. Find your own study, there are plenty of them to choose from! You can do fuck all with the rest of the house! If you want the mudblood comfortable there, you'll have to disable all the Anti-Muggle traps, good luck finding all of them!"

"I said all that to actually say this. I'm sorry. I was and still am a bad dad. I was raised full of hate and I tried to raise you full of hate. Yeah, I could have let your mum have more contact with you but then you would have grown up soft, wouldn't you? As it was, you were practically perfect until that fucking wolf bit you! I couldn't let myself be seen with an imperfect heir, of course, so I had to get rid of you! Anyway, that was then and this is now. All I can say now is, looking back, I'm sorry. I fucked up." Signed "Dad."

He folded the letter to show his mum and Hermione. Right now, he had to get ready, go collect his mum and soon to be wife, then go watch the old man basically die.

Hermione had taken the day off so she could be with Scabior and Annemarie. She definitely wasn't looking forward to seeing a wizard get his soul sucked out but she didn't want them to be alone. She knew Harry was also planning on being there. Fen was going to meet them at the Cauldron along with Scabior and Tom. Fen had told her Scabior was having trouble processing it. After years of wanting his father dead, now he was suddenly having doubts.

She and Annemarie came downstairs together and went to the kitchen. Harry was already there. He came over and hugged them both. Hermione and Annemarie were both dressed in black. Annemarie had decided that, even though she hated the man's guts, she would go to his execution, looking like the perfect pureblood wife he was always berating her to be. A sudden whoosh of the Floo announced the arrival of Fenrir and Mary, along with Tom. They didn't want their boy facing this without their support. Lastly, Scabior himself came through. He went straight to his mother to show her the letter. As she read it, she laughed and a few tears did slide down her cheeks.

The group then took the Floo to the Ministry and went down the passage way connecting it to Azkaban Prison. They walked single file with Harry at the front of the line and Ron bringing up the rear. He and Parvati had decided they needed to be there as extra support for Hermione who looked white as a sheep. She was still frightened of the man who had almost cost her the love of her life. She had thought, long and hard, about the matter and decided that she was more than ready to not only marry Scabior but also start a family with him. All she was doing now was waiting for him to pop the question.

They were shown into a viewing room and seated. The left wall lit up and proved to be a mirror into the execution room. There w's already a Dementor hovering near the ceiling. A door on the far side of the room opened up and two guards walked in, escorting Malaki Scabior. There was a single chair in the center of the room. The guards walked the prisoner over and strapped him down to the chair. Never once did he act like he even felt the presence of the Dementor. After making sure his bindings were secure, the grads stepped back. One of them addressed him. "Does the prisoner have any last words?"

"Aye, the prisoner does." He turned his face toward the viewers like he could actually see them. "Wolf! I know you got my letter! Make sure you abide by it, every word of it! Good luck springing all those traps! Even I don't know where most of them are! Maybe the portraits will help, if you can threaten them bad enough!" he laughed wildly. "When you and that Mudblood start spewing out pups, don't raise them to be pansies, you hear?! Raise them tough, boy, just like I raised you!"

He then looked at the guard and said, "Well? The fuck are you waiting for?! Bring on the fucking Dementor, already! I know the fucker is here, I can feel him!" The guard looked startled. Evidently he was used to prisoners begging for their lives at the last minute! Scarier rolled his eyes! 'Of course, the fucker would go out cussing!'

The guards looked at each other, then towards the viewers. A voice echoed into the room. "Prisoner, are you sure that you have nothing else to say?" Malaki Scabior looked up with a truly evil grin and said. "What else is there to say? Calling Hellfire and Damnation onto the head of my barren wife, werewolf son and Mudblood daughter in law? Telling them all to go fuck off and die? You tell me, what else DO I need to say?! He knows what I wanted him to know. That's the end of it. Let's get this shit storm on the road! Oi, Dementor! I'm over here, come get some!" he cackled madly. The guards looked at him fearfully and backed away from him, into a corner of the room. The dementor swooped down, surrounding the man. They could hear him laughing right up to his last breath. After the wraith swooped away, they all stared at the man. He was slumped in his chair, looking for all the world as though he were simply asleep.

There was total silence in the room. Ron stood with Fenrir and Tom. Harry was beside Scabior. Annemarie, Hermione and Parvati were huddled with Mary. Without a word to anyone, Scabior left the room. Hermione started after him until Harry stopped her, telling her to let him grief privately for a few minutes. Annemarie, believing she hated the man and wished this death on him, was crying. She hadn't realized it would hurt so much to watch him die. He came back a few minutes later to check on her and his mother. After reassuring himself that they were ok, he held them close to him.

As the investigating Aurors on the case, Harry and Ron were both required to sign the death certificate, stating they had witnessed the execution. They made arrangements for the body to be sent home and buried in the family plot. Harry seriously doubted the Manor would ever be opened up or lived in anymore unless it was the behest of Hermione or Annemarie. Scabior's utter revulsion of his birth home ensured he would never willingly set foot in it ever again.

They all adjourned to the Leaky Cauldron afterwards. Hermione was worried. Scarier hadn't said a word since watching his father die. His continued silence scared her slightly. It was the quietest she'd ever known him to be. 'Surely he wasn't feeling guilty over the man's death. The old man had brought his punishment on himself!' she didn't know he was struggling to find the words to let her know how he was feeling.

At seven o'clock, he told her to go get ready. They were going to the Riot with his brothers. "Are you sure? After-?" she started.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go get ready." He shooed her on her way. After escorting Annemarie back and leaving her with Andromeda, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Parvati came back with Hermione. They went through the Floo and into the nightclub, the wolves right behind them. Scabior's hand was tightly grasping Hermione's hand as he pulled her straight to the bar. He held out his other hand and snapped his fingers at Blaise. The boy reached under and pulled out the little pillbox. After a Vicodin and a shot of whiskey, they took their second shots to the dance floor. Harry nodded to himself. Scabior wanted to drink his pain and sadness away and have an excuse to keep his arms wrapped around Hermione. "I wanted his approval. Even though I knew he'd never give it. I just wanted, one last time, for him to approve of me, tell me I mattered. That's all. Was that so very much to ask for?" Hermione reached up and wiped away a few tears. Scabior didn't cry often or easily. She knew it took a lot to get her big wolf upset. Watching the death of the father he despised should, in his eyes, have been a breeze! Instead here he was, crying like a baby.

The mated wolves went to the dining tables to keep watch over their little Beta. The unmated wolves followed them down, found pretty girls and joined them on the dance floor. Harry and the rest of their friends watched as they drifted into their own little world.