Leopold turned away from the Headmistress derisively and towards his only child. "Somehow you won the entire Tournament despite finishing last in each of the Tasks, or so I hear." There was a tone of disbelief in his voice laced with a fake charm that Emma had never heard before. He turned to the Headmistress when Mary Margaret spluttered in confusion, his eyebrow raised in a way that twisted Emma stomach. "Or have I been misled?"
"You were summoned here, Leopold," Professor McGonagall said instead of answering his question, steel laced her tone. "In a way that we knew you would undoubtedly arrive."
"Oh, was I?" Leopold said mockingly. "I thought I was merely invited to watch my daughter win the Tournament and help accept the prize with her."
"You thought wrong, Leopold," said a low voice from behind them.
Emma would recognise that voice, even if blindfolded and in a crowd. She turned on her heel and saw her grandfather walking towards the group at the centre of the Quidditch Pitch. She felt her mother grab her hand and started pulling her forward. Entirely unconsciously, Emma reached out to take Regina's to pull her along as well. Her girlfriend would need to know what was going on.
"Why Midas, my old friend, what are you doing here?" Leopold asked. "I wouldn't have thought this would be a place you would choose to frequent."
"As the Head Governor of Hogwarts, it is my duty to oversee events such as this one," Midas replied, keeping his voice light and casual for now. "However, I am also here in support of my only grandchild. I am sure you are just as proud of your daughter as I am of my granddaughter."
Leopold's eyes narrowed at the sheer idea of being proud of his daughter. It was clear that he'd never ever experienced that sort of feeling towards his only child.
"However, enough pleasantries," Midas said, his tone clipped, emphasising the fact that there hadn't been any pleasantries in the first place. He turned to the Headmistress. "Minerva, as previously arranged."
Professor McGonagall nodded and raised her wand. At first nothing seemed to happen and Emma was beyond baffled but then she felt her mother's hand tighten on hers so instinctively, she did the same to Regina's and she felt her feet lift clear off the ground.
Seconds later, everyone was planted firmly onto a seat in one of the dungeons. Leopold was strapped in the centre, chains already swarming around his wrists like they would in front of the whole Wizengamot in the Ministry's court rooms, his face twisting in anger. Emma, her father and Regina were sitting two rows behind, but somehow, her mother had managed to drop Emma's hand and land at the front of the dungeon, standing beside her father and Harry.
The Head Auror stepped forwards, taking over from Midas for the moment.
"Leopold Arcturus Blanchard, you are under arrest for fraud, illegal activity, theft and double murder."
"You have no proof, little boy," Leopold cried. However, his calm façade was starting to crack as evidenced by an uncontrolled pulsing of a vein in his temple and there was a faint layer of sweat glinting across his forehead, despite no longer being stood in the warm sunshine.
"I have all the proof I could possibly need," Harry muttered calmly, not rising to the bait thrown toward him in the form of an insult. "Now, are you going to answer honestly or do we need to take matters into our own hands to hear the truth?"
Leopold glared and remained silent, biting his lips to prove his point that he would not be speaking willingly.
Harry sighed, as if he had partially expected the suspect to say at least something on his behalf. He shook his head. "Auror Swan, as we expected."
Kat nodded at her boss before stepping forward and towards the suspect, pulling something from her robes as she went. Leopold glared at the small bottle in the Auror's hand, instantly recognising it, and tried to keep his mouth firmly shut as she approached. Emma too recognised it immediately as Veritaserum, the Wizarding World's most powerful truth serum, something she never, ever wanted to be on the receiving end of.
"If you do not open your mouth willingly, you will have it forced down your throat anyway," Kat instructed. Her voice was cold and alien to Emma who had naturally never been on the receiving end of Auror Swan. She had seen her mother annoyed when she had been in trouble, but it came nowhere near the icy tone she now used.
It was not surprising to anyone gathered in the room that Leopold chose not to comply, and Emma saw her mother point her wand at his throat and his jaw snapped opened immediately. Kat uncorked the bottle and tipped three droplets of the clear liquid into Leopold's throat.
It was clear that Leopold was trying to prevent any liquid from dripping down his throat, but it was to no avail as his throat moved, swallowing the liquid down.
Midas then stepped forward and nodded to Harry. "Mind if I take over?"
Harry shook his head. "Not at all, Chief Warlock Swan."
Again, the official tone was strange to Emma's ears. She had heard the odd passer-by refer to her grandfather as such when the two had gone to Diagon Alley but never in an official way as this. However, she had known Harry all of her life and had never heard that tone from him either and she was sure she'd never want to hear it again.
"Perfectly done," Midas muttered as he nodded to his daughter before he sat at the front desk, opposite the suspect. Leopold's eyes clouded over as the trial began. "Speak your full name."
"Leopold Arcturus Blanchard," Leopold said without restraint as the potion was now in full effect, pulling the truth out of him. Everything he now uttered would be the truth. Emma also had an inkling that it would have a much stronger effect than normal Veritaserum. She had a feeling this was a specially brewed batch, one which's recipe lay only with Unspeakable potioneers, it was more potent than the traditional recipe, would last longer and ensure no lies could slip through as it had been known for some to break through the power of the original potion.
"Now, will you reveal everything to do with your arrest," Midas requested, rather pleasantly while Kat set up a magical dictaquill to take note of everything that was said. Emma couldn't agree more, there would be far too much for someone to write themselves and keep up. "The fraud, illegal activity, theft and the murders. Starting from the very beginning."
Despite knowing that he'd taken the potion, Emma still half expected him to bite his tongue and refuse to speak. However, she knew of the power of the potion and that despite how hard he was trying to not speak, he would not be able to fight it for longer that a second.
A moment later, he spoke and everything started unravelling.
It seemed like hours passed by as Leopold spoke. He really did start from the beginning, repeating what Emma's parents had said about Eva Nolan being the most desirable woman and that he needed to marry her. He spoke of how much he wanted her and Emma even felt sorry for Mary Margaret at the way her father was describing her mother as if she was the choicest meat from a butcher. She could also see her father look uncomfortable at the way his cousin was being described. The two barely had barely known each other, but Eva was still family despite that.
However, when it was revealed that Leopold murdered his first wife, Mary Margaret emitted an ear-splitting scream before she fainted in her chair, falling to the floor. No one paid her any attention; it was better that she was out cold so that she couldn't comment or hear any more horrifying truths from her father. Her mind needed time to recover from the horrible news she had just found out, as her life would now be forever changed, before she received her punishment for the Final Task.
Leopold quickly moved on and revealed how he blackmailed Henry Mills regarding Zelena's parentage, but her true father was never mentioned, before moving on to how he stole his money before killing him just as he had with Eva.
Three screams were emitted simultaneously. So, the Mills' really didn't know the truth about how Henry had died. Until then, they all believed that he had killed himself.
Cora burst into tears immediately and crashed into Professor Gold's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her, consoling her the best he could. It was strange to see a soft side to the Potions Professor, but she had to believe there was one as he had a successful marriage.
Zelena was quieter than her mother. Her scream was half masked by a gasp as her breathing stopped momentarily before she blinked and tears started streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around herself as she brought her legs up to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. Cora reached out to take her eldest daughter's hand, but she shook her head and refused.
"He was killed because of me," Zelena whispered, her quiet tone carrying in the silence of the room. "It's my fault."
"No!" Cora replied, aghast. "Never think that. He was killed because that man is a monster!"
"I'm so sorry," Midas called out quietly, but apologetically, "but we only have a limited time, please may we return to the matter at hand?"
Cora nodded slowly. "Of course, Chief Warlock Swan." She reached out again to her eldest and this time, Zelena accepted the hand and squeezed it tightly.
Emma glanced to the right to see that her girlfriend was also crying, but Regina's tears were silent after her scream. Her breathing was ragged in her grief and she reached out to take hold of Emma's hand, gripping it tightly to the point that they both started turning both as white as a ghost, but Emma allowed it. She was aware she'd react almost in exactly the same way, especially if the truth had been revealed to her in this way.
"I'm so sorry," Emma whispered kindly into Regina's ear as the brunette leant to the side and rested her head on Emma's shoulder. Automatically, Emma let go of Regina's hand and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, stroking it softly. "I've got you."
Regina sniffled, but she didn't speak.
"Continue," Midas instructed. He glanced at the scene but now was not the moment to comment on it. As he had said, they had limited time.
The Veritaserum was fully in Leopold's system as he carried on speaking, not even commenting on the insult his wife had thrown in his direction or the fact that she'd even spoken. He moved away from Henry Mills and spoke about how the contract came into play and how Robin Locksley Senior had figured out the truth about how Henry Mills had died.
Leopold kept speaking and Kat's quill kept scribbling away while everyone in the room looked on in sheer disgust.
After what Emma was sure as an hour, the potion started to wear off as Leopold's answers started to slow and be uttered more reluctantly, but both Harry and Midas had heard enough.
"Leopold Arcturus Blanchard, you are hereby sentenced to life in Azkaban in the highest tower to rot," Midas commanded. "There will be no bail or chance of release. You will never see the light of day again." He nodded towards Harry and Kat and both stepped forward.
Just as the chains were dropped, the Aurors grasped onto his arms and Apparated away.
"I can't believe it," Regina whispered as soon as the prisoner, Harry and Kat had disappeared. She fell back into Emma's arms and openly sobbed.
Midas walked over to where they were sitting.
"I really am sorry about cutting off your grief, Cora," he said as he reached them. He reached out and took hold of her hands. "You have every right to be upset. It's truly monstrous what he did."
Well, that was new information, she wasn't aware that her grandfather was that close to Cora Blanchard.
"It is quite alright, Midas," Cora replied. "I think deep down, I knew the truth. It was just only confirmed today."
Midas nodded and turned to his granddaughter. "Are you ready to be crowned Champion?"
Emma swallowed. "After all that? Surely the crowd won't even be there by now."
"You must," Regina insisted. "And you know they will. They're too eager to know who actually won between you and Elsa. I know I'm out." She smiled slightly through her tears, showing that she had no hard feelings about the outcome.
The Gryffindor Champion turned to her Grandfather and sighed. "Then let's get on with it."
"That's not the attitude, Em," Midas chastised. "Come on." He offered his arm out to his granddaughter. Emma didn't hesitate as she took his arm and felt her feet fly away from the ground once more.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Emma's ears were ringing with the sheer sound of applause and cheers from the crowds who somehow, hadn't left.
Elsa shot over to her cousin and wrapped her arms around her. "Oh, thank Merlin you're safe. We had no idea what was going on. Mary Margaret's father turned up and then suddenly you were all gone. Mrs Granger-Weasley disconnected your pendants immediately too. What happened? Where's Mary Margaret?"
Both Emma and Regina turned around and realised that the Hufflepuff had not been brought back to the Quidditch Pitch.
"She has been locked in the dungeon for now," David said as he joined his daughter. "She will not be receiving any reward for the Tasks and it will be looked into whether she will be sent to St Mungo's for mental instability or just expelled for her actions. As for what happened, I will fill you and your parents in later."
Elsa still looked very confused, but the Heads of House, the judges and the Headmistress were all rushing over to the three Champions. Hermione was holding the trophy in her arms which seemed amiss. There had been a big deal put out that the great Harry Potter would be the one to hand out the trophy, but he and Kat were still nowhere to be seen.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for your patience," the Headmistress cried but the crowd just applauded louder, most likely happy that something was happening again and the hope that the confusion would be cleared up, but it wasn't.
It was now that Emma looked around to see the sheer amount of people that were there. It looked like every single student had arrived and half of the parents along with other members of the public. In the Gryffindor section, Emma could clearly see the Weasley clan with their bright hair making them stand out from the rest. She smiled knowing that she had a huge group of supporters there.
"However, the time has come to announce the winner!" Professor McGonagall cried. "As we all know from watching the Task through the Pensive Pendants, the Champions had to make their way through different tasks before they raced to the end. It was then that the Hufflepuff Champion cheated and tried to curse the Slytherin Champion, but the sensor in the broom picked this up and took control. Sadly, Miss Mills was pulled from her broom in her desperation only for Miss Swan to save her."
The crowd went wild as Emma heard her save repeated back to her. In fairness, she was quite happy to get a quick rundown of the Task. Despite the fact it had only happened in the last couple of hours, with the trial of Leopold Blanchard happening straight afterwards, she had forgotten parts of what had happened.
The applause she heard filled her with a happiness she's never felt. They were all supporting her and agreed with her actions. No one thought she had cheated.
"Miss Swan then chose to summon her own broom, a perfectly legal move," Professor McGonagall continued. "And raced to the end with Miss Mills riding on behind her on the broomstick and bypassed Miss Nolan at the last moment. Therefore, we have agreed to place Miss Nolan second and Miss Mills third in the Task with Miss Swan as our Champion!"
The noise in the Quidditch Stadium was louder than it had ever been and it was all for her. She turned to Hermione, ready to accept the trophy, however, she didn't see her standing there. Instead, it was Harry Potter. She had no idea how he had got there, but there he was.
"Congratulations, Emma," Harry cheered as he passed over the trophy. "I knew you had it in you!"
Emma beamed as she accepted the trophy and she turned to the crowd and held it in the air and the noise got louder. Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted in the air. Glancing down, she saw August and LJ holding her in the air before they started parading her around the Quidditch Pitch, just like they had after the Quidditch Final.
"Go, go Gryffindor!" They screamed which was quickly picked up by the crowd. Even the Slytherins joined in.
"Let me down," Emma giggled, the attention starting to be too much.
The two relented before each hugging her tightly, which she accepted.
"He's locked up," she whispered into LJ's ear. "Gone forever."
LJ pulled back and smiled. "Good but don't worry about that now. Celebrate your win. I'm so happy for you, I knew you could do it."
"Thanks," Emma replied before she felt someone crash into her which then turned into a group hug. It didn't take long to realise who it was.
"You did it!" Ruby cheered.
"We're so proud of you!" Victoire cried.
Emma pulled back and saw that they had been joined on the Quidditch Pitch by not just her best friends but Minnie too, the rest of the Weasleys were slowly making their way over too.
"I just can't believe it," Emma muttered.
"You were incredible from what we saw," Minnie said. "You did everything much better than the others, but Mary Margaret got through the first few tasks far too quickly. Apparently, Hagrid blabbed after she got him drunk. Dad found out when he saw him earlier."
"No wonder she was so smug to start off with," Emma muttered.
"Yeah, you could see it," Victoire said. "But her flying was so shoddy. Regina caught up with her immediately and that was when they started arguing. You didn't miss much before you and Elsa caught up. We thought it would be a major fight between all four of you, but Elsa just ignored it all and flew off."
"I don't blame her," Emma replied with a shake of her head.
"I shouldn't have even been surprised that you saved Regina though," Ruby said, her voice light with humour.
Emma, unable to help it, glanced right at where Regina was standing with her family, Professors Gold and McGonagall and Harry. They all looked pretty serious, but she sensed Emma's glance and turned, flashing her girlfriend a small smile despite the red eyes as the family were fully filled in of the information regarding the death of Henry Mills.
"I couldn't let her fall," Emma replied with a shrug. "Not even because of us, but because she deserved to finish the race and the Tournament. She's still come in second as she was leading Elsa in terms of points when we started the Task."
"True," Ruby said.
However, before they could continue with their conversation, the rest of the Weasley clan were rushing over.
"Congratulations!" They all cried before Emma found herself being tossed around each person, receiving hugs and congratulations as she went.
"Thanks everyone," Emma replied, her face as bright red as the sea of hair before her. She then turned and saw two very important people standing beside her parents. "If you'll excuse me."
She left the Weasleys behind before running over to her parents and godparents, throwing herself at Mal who caught her immediately.
"I am so proud of you, Emma!" Mal cheered as she hugged her tightly before passing her to Killian.
"I knew you could do it, Em," Killi said as he squeezed her.
"We all knew you had it in you," Kat said as she hugged her daughter close. David joined in immediately.
"Thanks guys," Emma said before she turned to her father. "Also, sorry, you asked for no more famous family members. I guess I'm going to get more recognition for this."
David chuckled. "I was kidding. This is something that will not be forgotten for a long time."
Emma nodded. "I suppose." She felt eyes on her and glanced left to see that Regina was slowly making her way towards her. "I'll be right back."
She turned and met her girlfriend in the middle of the pitch.
"Are you alright?" Emma asked, cringing as she knew it was a stupid question.
"I think I always knew deep down," Regina replied as she took hold of Emma's hand. Emma allowed it, despite the eyes on them. She was flying high from her win, that she didn't even care.
"I'm here for you, Regina," Emma murmured. "Always."
Regina smiled softly and pulled on Emma's hand, pulling her close before sealing their lips together in a sweet kiss. Emma lost herself in the kiss, so much so that she didn't hear the gasps from around her.
"Emma Swan!"
Emma shot back at her grandfather's voice and she felt sick to her stomach in preparation for his reaction.
"Grandpa?"
Midas Swan had his poker face on, which Emma hadn't been expecting. She had always believed he would show his feelings surrounding her sexuality clearly, but she was wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked and his expression finally broke but it wasn't disgust or disappointment, it was sadness. He was genuinely upset that his only granddaughter had kept a secret from him.
Emma swallowed and walked away from Regina and towards her grandfather. He reached out and took her hand, like he always had whenever he wanted to tell her something.
"I didn't know how you'd react," she whispered. Blinking, she felt tears welling up in her eyes and one escaped. "I didn't want you to hate me." She bowed her head in sorrow but her grandfather gently rested his finger on her chin, tipping it back so that he was looking into her eyes. The ones that matched his so perfectly.
"I could never hate you, Emma," he promised. "You're my granddaughter and my family. I love you. Your happiness is all I want." He paused as he remembered something. "Is that why I'm your boggart?"
Emma swallowed nervously before she shook her head. "It's always been you, not in that context, but I just never want to disappoint you. That's the worst thing imaginable to me."
"You could never disappoint me," Midas said sincerely. "You are the greatest granddaughter one could imagine and you represent the Swans in every positive way imaginable. It is completely impossible for you to ever disappoint me. Promise me that you will always remember that."
"I promise," Emma swore and accepted her grandfather's hug.
Midas then pulled back, taking his granddaughter's hand in one and reaching out another to Regina who slowly made her way over. Hesitantly at first, but accompanied by an encouraging smile from Emma, she took his outstretched hand. "And if Miss Mills makes you happy, then who am I to stand between the two of you?" He then smiled and chuckled quietly. "Besides, with the way you saved her, it was pretty obvious what was going on. Even for an old man like me."
A nervous laugh escaped Emma's lips. "Seriously?"
Midas raised his eyebrow and chuckled. "Seriously and don't worry about your grandmother, she will be perfectly happy with it too. We love you, Emma."
Emma released a high-pitched noise before she launched herself at her grandfather again, hugging him tightly.
"I love you too," she whispered and hugged him tightly.
When she was finally released, she turned to where Regina was standing who was beaming brightly.
"I told my mum earlier," Regina revealed. "When we were walking around the grounds. She's also happy for us and Zelena just called me a lesbo." She shook her head. "What an idiot."
Emma giggled before pulling Regina forward and kissed her again. "Well we've had the best reaction we could hope for. Everyone important knows now and they approve. Now, do you have a reward for your winner?"
Regina rolled her eyes before she pulled Emma closer once more. Their lips pressed together again and cat calls and whistles were heard surrounding them, but neither cared.
Leopold had been arrested, Mary Margaret had been taken away, the Interhouse Tournament was over and everyone who was important knew about Emma's relationship with Regina. She had never worried about her father's side of the family. As she glanced over Regina's shoulder, she saw her Grandad Robert and Grandma Ruth beaming at her as they stood next to James, Daphne and Elsa.
Elsa looked like Christmas had come early. Clearly, she had suspected something had been going on and now she was proven to be right, which she nearly always was.
With a deep breath, Emma stepped back from Regina as everything hit her even more. She had won. She was the ultimate Champion and she was now five hundred Galleons richer and earned even more house points for Gryffindor, something she couldn't wait to rub in Regina's face once the crazy day had passed. It was ridiculous.
If she had been told in September that she would compete in the Tournament and win it, be part of helping an Auror investigation and be dating the girl she thought was her biggest enemy, she'd have personally booked them in at St Mungo's for treatment. It was completely baffling, but that was the reality and she wouldn't change that for the world.
She took hold of Regina's hand as she led them back over to where their friends and family were waiting.
"I'm starving," she muttered, making the others laugh at her typical comment. "Let's get some food."
A/N: This is the penultimate chapter…