Chapter 8 A Day In Court II

A short chapter. Okay, so I went a completely different route than mjimeyg. She went for funny, I bordered on hard. Still, I hope you enjoy. Any good one-liners are probably mjimeyg's.

DaughterOfIris23 and Dashti-the-dramione-shipper are the betas for this chapter.

HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS

The man stepped into the courtroom as if he were on stage for a play. In this play, he would have been the overdramatic good guy, with flourishing poses, sparkling smiles, and twinkling eyes. Everyone expected that any moment he would spout off, 'Worry not, for I am here to save the day,' which, thank God, he didn't.

"Oh, God. It's a member of the Amateur Dramatics Club," Xander groaned quietly, putting his face in his hands. Harry and Hermione giggled, while Dora and the Grangers flat out laughed. Minerva just thinned her lips and looked at her boss in disgust.

Judge Finch looked at the overbearing man and then to Mr. Charles. "I take it this is your witness?"

"Yes, your Honor," the poor man said, trying hard not to groan.

"Your character witness?" came the disbelieving question.

"Yes, your Honor," was the equally disbelieving answer.

"Have him take a seat. We'll call him in a moment," the judge sighed, waving his hand at the galley.

Mr. Charles quickly gestured for Dumbledore to sit behind him. The old man looked put out that he was not recognized immediately. He took the indicated seat with and air of indignation. The old man smiled reassuringly at the Dursleys and winked at Harry. This got the other adults' dander up.

"What were you about to say, before we were so rudely interrupted?" the judge asked, looking at Mr. Charles.

"It pertains to my witness, your Honor. Professor Dumbledore has expressed to me that it is in Mr. Potter's best interest that he continues residing at the Dursleys. He stated that it is a matter of life or death," the sweating man replied, since judging from the judge's doubtful frown, he figured that his statement was not going to go over well.

"Looking at the evidence before me, I find that very hard to believe. Do you have any other evidence that will support this claim?" Judge Finch asked, raising an eyebrow in supreme skepticism.

"Well, your Honor, Professor Dumbledore states that he is willing to testify to this fact," was the feeble response.

"Very well, call your witness."

"Albus Dumbledore, please take the stand."

With a flourish, the old man stood, took the witness seat, was sworn in, and smiled genteelly to what he perceived as an audience. This was going to be one of his finest performances, after all.

"Carry on, Mr. Charles," Judge Finch said tersely.

"Thank you, your Honor." The nervous lawyer turned to the man who could make or break his case. "Professor Dumbledore, you have led us to believe that you can give proof to the fact that Mr. Potter needs to remain at the Dursleys. Will you give your testimony now?"

"Of course. Eleven years ago, there was a mad man out to slay the Potter family. A terrorist, if you will. On Halloween of the year 1981, he murdered young Mr. Potter's parents, Lily and James. By some miracle, young Harry survived, and the terrorist did not. However, there were those that followed the terrorist fanatically. They would look to complete the job their… leader failed. I needed a safe place to put young Harry, and Petunia Dursley and her son are the last remainder of his blood family. There is little known generally about Lily Potter, she was unimportant to her killer. They would not know how to find him. It is imperative that Mr. Potter remains hidden there, so the followers of this mad man do not kill him. It is the only place, outside of school, where he is safe," Dumbledore stated as fact, prevaricating as best he could.

"You were the one to take Mr. Potter there for his safety?" Mr. Charles asked, hoping to deflect some of the blame off his clients.

"Yes. After the attack, I had one of my most trusted comrades go and retrieve the poor lad from his destroyed home. I then left Harry in the Dursley's care, warning them of the necessity that he remains there. They are his only family, as I have stated before," was the gentle answer.

"Mr. Dumbledore—" Judge Finch started, only to halt when the witness cleared his throat importantly.

"Professor, if you please."

"Do you have proof of identity?" the Judge asked, clearly upset that he was interrupted.

"Alas, I did not think to bring any with me," Dumbledore stated, looking over his glasses at the judge condescendingly.

"Then you will remain Mr. Dumbledore throughout these proceedings. Now, Mr. Dumbledore, are you saying you kidnapped the child and took him without consulting the authorities?" Judge Finch asked, shuffling through the paperwork. He turned his attention to the old man, who was quickly getting on his last nerve.

"The local authorities were not equipped to handle such a case. This terrorist had been about for many years, and no one was able to stop him until young Harry did. The Potters were with a group that was designed to capture the man. They failed, and it cost them their lives," the old man stated, looking patronizingly at the judge.

Xander and Minerva glared at the old man for saying such a thing, while Harry was almost in tears at the headmaster's disparaging words. His parents were heroes, and nothing this man could say would change that, but to downplay their courage in public made him want to cry. Dora put her arm around the despondent boy and Hermione held his hand. The Grangers were confused, as they really didn't know the story behind Voldemort. The Dursleys looked smug.

"So, you took it upon yourself to do so? What authority did you possess? Are you a sworn judge?" the man behind the bench asked, flabbergasted that this man put himself above the law.

"James Potter put his faith in me. I was merely carrying out his last request that his son remain safe," chastised Dumbledore, as if he were speaking to one of his students.

"That is not your call," the judge stated firmly. "That is a serious offence, and you will remand yourself into custody for questioning when we are done." He banged his gavel. "Now, Mr. Dumbledore, I have in front of me a slew of evidence that states that the last place Mr. Potter should be is with the Dursley family. As a matter of fact, unless I receive irrefutable proof otherwise, this case will be taken to the criminal court system. I ask you again, where is your evidence?" Finch said irately.

A deep frown marred the old man's face. His grandfather visage was nowhere to be seen. This caused the rest in the know that he wasn't just going to hand himself over. Those that knew the man well were sure that he would be leaving soon after he left the courtroom.

"I am afraid I cannot go into too much detail," Dumbledore stated airily. "I can only reinstate that there are elements out there who wish young Harry great harm."

"Do you have proof of this terrorist or his cohorts? Police reports? Intelligence briefings? Anything that would prove what you are telling us is the truth?" was the questions from the magistrate in a biting tone.

"No, it was a silent affair," Dumbledore stated. "Covered up by the highest authority."

"Then I have no choice but to dismiss your entire testimony," Finch stated as he banged his gavel.

The Dursleys were silent. They knew it was over, and they would not further harm their case by acting out.

Rothsby wasn't quite sure how he was winning, but he was. He had no idea how to proceed, though. "Your Honor, I-"

"No, Mr. Rothsby, I believe we have heard enough from this… witness. Mr. Dumbledore, the bailiff will take you into custody to answer for your crimes," the judge stated, pointing at a burly, mean-looking man in the back, who seemed to take a dim look on kidnappers.

Not wanting to cause a scene in front of everyone and break the Statute of Secrecy, Dumbledore silently went with the man.

Xander and a few others knew it was all for show, and they'd be seeing the headmaster soon enough. They watched him hold his head high as he left the courtroom, and all rolled their eyes.

"There are only two people I wish to hear from before I make my decision. Mr. Harris, could you take the stand please?" Judge Finch requested.

Xander was sworn in and sat waiting, patiently.

"I need to know that I will not be putting Mr. Potter in a worse situation, so I must ask: do you have proof of who you are and how you will be able to support him?" the judge questioned, very tired of this case already.

Xander took out his paperwork from his inner pocket, handed it to the judge, and replied, "I am owner of the school and I have a lot of experience with children. Granted, mostly girls, but you see my point." The goblins had created a background for him, even putting in citations for traffic violations. According to these papers, he was a former teacher at an all-girls school in LA. He grew up in the area, moving to Britain at the request of a friend's mother to help her rescue Harry. All of that was based on the truth, so he wouldn't get his story mixed up.

Judge Finch chuckled. "You poor henpecked soul," he remarked.

"You have no idea," Xander said with a put-upon sigh, causing everyone to chuckle.

"Where do you plan on living? I am sure that the school is not year-round," he asked, looking at the paperwork. The school was listed as a boarding school in Scotland with a mailing address as a P.O. box, but no phone number. It was named Hogwarts School for the Gifted.

"No, your Honor. I am looking for a house right now, having recently relocated. We'll be living near the Grangers, and they have promised to keep an eye on us, given that I am unmarried," the one-eyed man stated.

"Good, that answers my next question," Judge Finch declared happily. "You may step down, Mr. Harris."

Xander left the stand and winked at Harry. Harry's smile lit the courtroom.

"Harry, I need you to come over here with the lawyers, so we can have a little talk. Don't worry, we'll be right back," he said, indicating a door off to the side, which was a chamber set up for just such a purpose.

The four went into the little room and all settled at the table. Harry was asked to promise to tell the truth, and the judge asked him, gently, "Were the Dursleys as bad as the evidence shows?"

"Yes, sir, I mean, your Honor," came the nervous response as Harry looked at the table.

"Can you tell me about a day in the life at that house?" Finch inquired, smiling encouragingly at the boy.

So Harry told him about the house work, the punishments and the lack of food. He hung his head and the judge lifted it up.

"Do you want to stay with them?" the man asked, letting his hand drop.

"NO! I mean, no, sir," Harry exclaimed quickly, snapping his head up, clearly desperately hoping he wasn't going to be sent back.

"Don't worry. As far as this court is concerned, you will not have to, if that is your desire," Judge Finch, comfortably patting the child on the hand. "Now, do you want to stay with Mr. Harris? I understand that he has been taking care of you for a while."

"Xander is really nice to me, and if I can, I'd like to stay with him," the shy boy replied, trying a confident smile.

"There would have to be visits with a caseworker. Since you are at a boarding school, you will have to come to their office and talk to them," warned the judge. "That way, if Mr. Harris does turn out to be bad, you can let them know."

"Xander's cool, he teaches me how to protect myself," Harry defended his hero immediately.

"Okay, okay. Let's see how it goes for a year. If all goes well, then he can have permanent custody," Judge Finch said with a chuckle.

"Thanks, your Honor," the messy-headed boy said enthusiastically.

They all went back into the courtroom and resumed their seats. The judge banged his gavel for attention, causing Harry and his group to turn towards the front.

"I am afraid I have no choice but to hand the Dursleys over for prosecution. Quite frankly, today's hearing was appalling. I have heard many tales of abuse of a child, and this was one of the worse I have seen, due to the length and breadth of the conspiracy surrounding, and causing, Mr. Potter's torment. I am ruling that Harry James Potter is to be held in the custody of Alexander Lavelle Harris. There will need to be a probationary period, and Mr. Rothsby will explain the details, but as I explained to Harry, he can never be legally forced to return to the Dursleys. This hearing is closed." One more bang of the gavel and a majority of the galley sighed in relief.

As the Dursleys filed out quickly with their solicitor, Judge Finch signaled quietly that he wanted the rest to stay. He then dismissed his scribe and Xander told Mr. Rothsby he would call later. As the scribe closed the door, Judge Finch sighed. "I assume the Hogwarts listed is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" he asked tiredly.

Everyone but Xander seemed shocked at that question.

"Justin's dad?" the one-eyed man asked with a quiet chuckle. "I've run across him a few times in my job as Head of Security. The kid just can't help getting lost." That statement gained quite a few snickers.

"Yes, that sounds like him. We, his mother and I, can't let him go anywhere new alone. He'll find his way in due time. So, how's he doing?"

"He's doing okay. He's made plenty of friends, but he still has a bit of a stick up his butt at times," Xander commented, earning a scowl from Minerva and a laugh from the others, including Judge Finch.

"Sounds about right. It's one of the reasons I didn't want to send him to Eton. He has older brothers there, you see," Judge Finch chuckled. "Now, I know that Mr. Dumbledore is going to escape. I want it noted that there will be a record of this, and he will have a warrant out for his arrest. I beg you to remove him as headmaster of the school. These papers say you are the owner, do you have that power?" the judge all but pleaded.

"I'm sorry, nothing done here today will affect his standing in the wizarding world. In their eyes, he's done nothing wrong. We can't boot him out on that. However, he has done other things that call him into question, and he's currently on a year's probation. I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on him. If he screws up, I'll be kicking him out so fast his over-long beard will be left behind," Xander said seriously.

"Who will be in charge then? Yourself? While you have experience, somewhat, I don't think you have the training to run a boarding school," Finch commented, remembering that the man did take care of a large group of girls. Still, not as large a Hogwarts.

"Professor McGonagall will assume the head of the school if we boot him. If that fails, we have other plans in place," he assured the man while waving to the prim teacher sitting next to him.

Judge Finch sighed in frustration. "I suppose that will have to do for now. At least I know you have the children's best interests at heart. Harry, you made a good choice today. Take it from someone with years of experience in these situations," Justin's dad said kindly.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I think I did too," Harry said, smiling up at Xander, who patted his shoulder in return.

"You'll be going into your rebellion years soon, try and pay attention to what Mr. Harris has to say." He was not looking forward to the same talk with his son.

"I will, sir," Harry said surely.

"Sure, you will," said a doubtful Xander.

"I will," protested the shy boy, thinking he would always listen to the one-eyed man. He had come to save him, after all.

"Do me a favor and keep me in the loop. I want to make sure that Justin is well protected. If I find out that he is in any danger, I will pull him from Hogwarts and send him to Eton," Judge Finch warned.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. However, if needs must then please do as you feel best," Xander said understandingly. He'd do the same if he could.

Then the bailiff came running into the courtroom. Dumbledore had escaped.