LoDK
The Legacy of the Dark Knight Saga
Jamie Prosser and the Fourth Champion
Chapter 9: Charley's Tale
Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any character original to this work remains the property of the author.
A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the
Harry Potter series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from Young Justice (2011), but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the New Tens as screened and is heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result.
A/N: Unless stated otherwise, the action of this story takes place in the run up to and during the 1997-1998 school year (305 "Anno Secreto" or "Year of Secrecy") parallel to the events of Deathly Hallows in canon. The year code "AL" is also my own invention and stands for After Liberation, counting the years after the Justice League's ending of the "Apokolips War", my as-yet unwritten take on the events of Young Justice Season 3 (Set late 1973 to April 1976).
Her attackers moved closer and closer, throwing stones and other objects at her. Some of them seemed to dodge away from her, but some made it through. "Leave me alone!" she cried. "Why are you hurting me… I haven't done anything to you!"
They didn't say anything, in fact one of the boys – this one carrying a rounders bat – came up behind her and swung it.
Her back exploded in pain, and then a feeling of growing heat came over her. "Stop! Please!" she begged, as she sank to her knees in pain, but they ignored her. "I haven't anything to you!"
The rest of the gang closed in, kicking or punching her in the back or legs.
"Stop…!" she whimpered, as a red, flickering light exploded into her vision.
****
Intensive Care Unit,
Pendlebury Children's Hospital
Manchester M27.
17th September, 0745 BST
Charley woke with a gasp, lurching in to a half-upright position, wincing as a stab of pain erupted in her chest. She took a couple of deep breaths to try and steady herself and was pleased when the pain didn't get any worse. Once the pain had subsided she glanced around. Her sheets were a little scorched and smelly, but she hadn't disturbed or hurt anyone.
She relaxed back against her pillows, and then noticed that for the first time in days, there was someone sitting in one of her guest chairs.
The visitor was a redheaded girl, probably about sixteen or seventeen if she had to guess, wearing a pale blue shirt and a black skirt. "Hi," said Charley.
"Hi," said the redhead. "Flashback or nightmare?"
"Flashback," Charley replied without thinking. "How did you…" Then she paused. Actually, that wasn't the real question. The real question is 'why did I answer?'. I didn't answer any of the police's questions, or that lady doctor's… I haven't even said much to the staff here…
"I've been where you are," the redhead admitted. "I know the signs."
"Who are you?" Charley asked, getting curious now. How could this confident-looking older girl know about her flashbacks…
"Ginny Weasley," she replied. "I'm staying with Alanna – Dr Montrose – to make easier to get to school, she asked me to come down and talk to you about happened."
She wasn't sure he was ready for that, but she wouldn't mind hearing a bit more about her. "What happened to you, how did end up with Dr Montrose?"
"It's a long, complicated story," Ginny replied. "And I can't tell you all of it now…"
"I'm not going anywhere," Charley pointed out. "I'd like to hear what you can."
"Okay," Ginny agreed. "I grew up as the youngest of seven, all boys apart from me…"
"Seven," exclaimed Charley. "Growing up with just Mikal was bad enough!"
Ginny nodded. "It has its advantages and disadvantages," she agreed. "Money was always tight with that many kids, but things were pretty quiet in my early years. It wasn't until I was a little older than you that things started to go wrong… I was home-schooled until I was eleven, so I wasn't ready to deal with other kids that weren't my brothers, and some of the kids were pretty cruel about my second-hand uniform and shabby equipment…"
Charley nodded. Given her own experiences, she could certainly believe that. "Something bad happened, didn't it…"
"One of the older students – his name was Tom – befriended me," Ginny paused. "At least that's what I thought at the time… he was really looking for a 'lure' or maybe a 'patsy' for his own activities. Four students were badly injured until my youngest brother's best friend Harry found out about it and was able to expose him."
"What happened then?"
"We were expelled," Ginny admitted.
"Both of you?"
"Harry too," Ginny confirmed.
"Huh?"
Ginny made a face, "We think the Chairman of the Board of Governors pushed for it… He's not a fan of my family or of Harry."
"What happened then?"
"Mum continued teaching me at home for a while… everything was pretty quiet until I went to a sports match back in the spring. A group of hooligans started attacking a lot of the attendees, including me." Ginny told her. "I had nightmares for over a month over that one… that was when I started seeing Dr Montrose for therapy."
"And that helped?"
Ginny nodded, "Not immediately, and there were other things going on… including making some new friends, Dr Montrose's son Eddie and Danny, Cole, Maz, Nita… getting close to Harry again…" She blushed a little at that. "Then I decided that I wanted to help other people."
"Like me."
"I'd like to," Ginny agreed. "If you'll trust me?"
Charley considered the question for a moment, then decided that not only could she trust Ginny, but – due to things that she wasn't mentioning – she would be able to help her. "Let's do it."
Ginny smiled brightly, "I'll make a couple of calls."
****
Park View Community School,
Manchester M40.
26th September, 1240 BST.
She got out of hospital the next day, but that was the highlight of her week as word got around the estate very quickly that she was involved in the boys' injuries, and a lot of people took their side. So she was very happy to see a friendly face when she left school on her way to court.
"Ginny!" she squealed, running over to the older girl, and enveloping her in a warm hug. "It's good to see you!"
"I'm happy to be here," Ginny said, returning the hug with equal warmth. "Are you ready?"
Charley took a deep breath, then sighed. "I think so. Is Miss Blake here?"
Ginny shook her head, "She's busy helping on another case. She'll meet us at the court when she's done."
Charley smiled ruefully, "And my mother… I assume she's 'busy' at bingo?"
Ginny nodded. "I'm afraid so."
Charley sighed, and then continued in a resigned tone. "Well, at least I've got you and Miss Blake."
"As I said, anything I do to help," Ginny assured her as they broke apart and started towards the tram station. "Let's get going. Have you had lunch?"
"Not yet," Charley admitted. "I'm not hungry."
Ginny shook her head. "No, no, that won't do," she insisted. "You can't go to court on an empty stomach. I think there's a good chip shop just around the corner from there, we can nip in and get something before we go in."
Charley considered arguing the point, but quickly realised that the older girl was right. "Okay, let's do it."
****
Manchester Youth Court,
Manchester M3.
1325 BST.
When they arrived at the court building, half-eaten bundles of fish and chips still in hand, Charley was already feeling a little better. Ginny had been right about the food. "Thanks, Ginny."
"You're welcome," Ginny replied. "What are friends for?"
"I wouldn't know," admitted Charley. "I've never had one."
"Never?"
"I've read stories about people who had friends, so I know the theory," Charley insisted, then she spotted her Witness Service volunteer standing next to the court entrance. "Hi Miss Blake!"
"Hi Charley," said the blond-haired woman. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," replied Charley hesitantly. "Is everything ready?"
Miss Blake nodded, "Miss Wilson is setting up in the main court room now. We'll be starting in half-an-hour."
"Well, I'm ready," said Ginny, finishing her last few chips and then collecting both her and Charley's rubbish for the bins. "Let's go."
Miss Blake offered a hand to Charley, who took it with a smile and then they headed towards the building with Ginny following behind. Miss Blake was a familiar face at the Magistrates Court, so she and Charley made it to the right room without incident, but Ginny was delayed at the entrance to the court room until she showed the security guard a plastic card.
"What was that about?" Charley asked Ginny as she slid into the empty seat next to her.
"He didn't want to let me in," Ginny admitted. "So, I played my 'trump card'."
"What was that?"
"This," said Ginny, and passed her the card.
Charley examined it briefly. The card was plastic, mostly white but with a gold border. "You're in the Justice League?"
"Shh," hissed Ginny. "I'm not in the League yet, I'm on the Team, their training section for young metahumans."
"Cool," said Charley with a grin.
"All rise," declared the clerk from the front of the room.
The three of them stood and waited as the three magistrates, a middle-aged man and two women about the same age, came in from the robing room. The man took the middle seat and the women took the two flanking seats. The chairman glanced towards the dock, which was currently empty apart from a uniform custody officer. "Bring in the defendants."
"Yes sir," confirmed the officer and moved to the door. She opened it and appeared to glance around the adjoining room, "Amur, Ishan and Yasmeen, join us please."
Seconds later, two teenage boys and a teenage girl entered the dock.
"Please be seated," instructed the clerk. Once everyone, including the defendants were seated, he spoke again. "The charges against the defendants are thus: That on the tenth of September of this year, they did assault nine-year old Khayriyya Zaman with the intent to rob her, inflicting actual bodily harm in the process…" he turned to the first defendant. "Amur, how do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
"Ishaan?"
"Not guilty."
"Yasmeen?"
"Not guilty."
The clerk turned to the bench, "Sir, we are ready to begin."
"Is the prosecution ready, Miss Wilson?" asked the chairman.
The black woman rose to her feet, "The prosecution is ready to proceed, sir. My learned friend, Crystal Wells, will be appearing for Amur al Fares, and my learned friend, Rachel French is for Ishan and Yasmeen el Nasir."
"So noted," said the chairman.
"With the permission of the court, I would like to begin to begin with the victim's video testimony."
"Granted."
Miss Wilson picked a remote and pointed it at the court room's tv screen. Seconds later, it flared into life and Charley saw her own face on the screen as a video began to play.
The first voice to speak was a male, "Please say your name and address for the record."
"Khayriyya Zaman, most people call me Charley. I live at eighteen Windsor Gardens, Chatsworth Council Estate, Manchester."
"In your words, can you tell me about the evening of the tenth of September? You'd gone to the library after school and then you were heading home…"
"It was about six o'clock. I never go home before that because my mum's always at bingo until then and my brother's usually out playing with his friends most of the night."
"What about your father, isn't he around?"
"He died years ago, rumour around the estate is that he sold a dodgy car to some gangster,"
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Why? He was mean."
There was a pause at this point. Charley remembered thinking that the constable had looked like he wasn't sure how to reply to that. "Uhhh… well… back to two days ago?"
"I was walked along, thinking about the book I'd been reading, not really paying attention to where I was when…"
There was another pause at this point. This time Charley remembered that it was her that had been having problems this time, but a brief chat with Dr Montrose had encouraged her to go on.
"… When a boy grabbed me by the arm and demanded that I give him my money. I told him I didn't have any, but I don't think he believed me because he tried to bend my arm back to hurt me. I managed to break away though and tried to run off but then he threw a rock at me and it hit me in the leg. I fell down and then some other boys and a girl appeared and started throwing stones and other objects at me."
"Did they hit you, the stones and other things?" asked the man's voice when she paused again.
"Most of them," she replied. "Some of them seemed to dodge away if I saw them in time, but I didn't spot them all. I begged them to leave me alone, asking them why they were hurting me… I hadn't done anything to them."
"But you eventually did, didn't you?" asked the man.
"I didn't mean too,"she insisted vigorously. "But when the first boy started hitting me with a rounders bat, I started feeling all hot inside and then they kept hitting me and it just… happened."
"There, there…" said a third voice, this time female. Dr Montrose. "You didn't mean too, you were just protecting yourself…"
The video ran for a few seconds longer and then faded to black.
"For the record, sir and mesdames, in view of her age no charges were filed against Charley, but she and her mother have agreed to peer mentor sessions supervised by Dr Montrose to prevent further reoccurrences."
"Very well," replied the chairman. "I see she is present in court today, does the defence have any questions?"
At this, the barrister on the right - most likely Miss French as she had more parents with her – stood, "I do, sir."
"Very well," said the chairman, and then looked directly at her. "Charley, can you come up here please?"
Charley rose to her feet and after a comforting squeeze of the hand and a 'you can do it' from Ginny, she walked briskly towards the front of the court and into the witness box. "I'm ready."
The clerk spoke up this point. "Do you understand that it is very important that you tell the truth?"
"Of course," she assured him, slightly indignant at the suggestion she wouldn't.
"And that it's okay to say you don't understand something?"
Charley reflected that was unlikely but agreed that he was right.
The clerk turned to the defence barristers. "You may proceed."
"Were either of my clients the one that grabbed you, Charley?"
"No, miss," Charley admitted.
"In fact, they didn't actually do anything to you at all… they were just unfortunate bystanders caught up in it."
"That's not true, miss."
"My clients say otherwise, Charley."
"They didn't try and stop it," Charley insisted. "And both of them threw things at me."
"I believe the shock of the attack is making you remember things wrong."
"I never remember things wrong," Charley told her firmly.
"Really?" asked Miss French, clearly unconvinced.
"I was told not to lie," Charley reminded her. "I'm not."
Miss French appeared to consider her position for a moment, then turned to the magistrates' bench. "No further questions, sir."
"Miss Wells?"
"Just one question, sir?"
"Proceed."
"Charley, are you absolutely sure that my client wasn't an innocent bystander. He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"I suppose he didn't injure me," admitted Charley after a moment. "But my arm did hurt after he kicked it."
"I see," said Miss French. "No further questions, sir."
"Miss Wilson, do you wish to follow up?"
"No sir."
The chairman then turned to her. "Charley, you may return to your seat."
"Thank you, sir," said Charley and quickly did so.
"You did very well," whispered Ginny as she sat back down between her and Miss Blake. "Good job."
Miss Blake rose to her feet, "The Crown now calls Police Constable Freeman."
The court usher rose from her chair in front of them and moved to the door, "Police Constable Freeman."
After a moment, a middle-aged man in a formal police uniform entered the room and strode towards the witness box.
"Please state your full name and occupation for the record," instructed the clerk.
"Stanley Dennis Waterman, Police Constable, Collar Number 5174, attached to the Chatsworth Estate Police Station."
"Do you wish to swear or affirm?"
"Swear, sir," said the constable and placed a hand on the Bible in front of him. "I swear by Almighty God to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
"Tell us about the events leading up to the arrest of the defendants…" said Miss Wilson.
"I had just finishing checking in with the shopkeepers on Causeway Parade when I heard a girl's voice screaming. I wasn't sure where it was at first, but then I saw a flash of flame down by the canal. By the time my partner and I made it down to the canal there were some little flames, but the source of the flames must have extinguished itself."
"And the screamer…"
"There were six children present, one nine-year old girl in the middle who appeared to be unconscious, with five older children arranged in a rough circle around her with the various burns in various levels of consciousness."
"What did you do next?"
"I stayed to secure the scene and radioed for ambulances and SOCO, while my partner went back to our car for a fire extinguisher."
"SOCO…?" Charley asked Ginny.
"Scene of Crime Officers… basically scientists who gather evidence."
"Ah, okay."
"It took a while before NWAS could round up enough ambulances to transport all of them, so the fires were out by the time they arrived," the constable said. "Initially, it looked like only two of the boys had been seriously injured and the absence of any weapon or ignition source led me to suspect that the girl was a metahuman and the source of the fire. The paramedics were able to confirm that the girl was a metahuman but her unconsciousness and the need to treat the two seriously burned boys meant that they initially missed her injuries."
"You were able to question her?"
"Not initially," the constable admitted. "First she was unconscious and then she was incommunicative. It wasn't until her injuries manifested and she ended up in hospital that she agreed to talk with me."
"And she was able to describe her attackers?"
"Clearly and distinctly, though more so in the case of the two more seriously injured boys."
"Did you find her convincing?"
"Surprisingly so," the constable admitted. "Normally young children aren't the easiest witnesses to interview but once she got going she was very organised and coherent."
"Thank you, Constable," said Miss Wilson. "Please stay where you are, I believe my learned friends may have some questions for you."
"Of course, miss."
As before, Miss French was the first to speak. "You said that you heard a single person screaming and then saw the flames?"
"That is correct."
"Where there any screams after the flames?"
"Yes, I could make at least three at one point."
"Any words?"
"The multiple screams were inarticulate, mostly pain, surprise or both."
"My clients maintain that they were innocent bystanders caught by surprise when the 'victim' attacked the two boys that she put in hospital, Abdul Jabaar al Azam and Amaan Ghafoor al Javed, can you refute that?"
"Not as such," admitted the constable. "But in my experience, polite, well-mannered, intelligent nine-year old girls don't tend to start fights with or attack teenagers, in fact they tend to avoid them as much as possible."
"Do you agree that the less severe injuries sustained by my clients support them being less involved in the attack?"
"It's possible," agreed the constable.
"Thank you, Constable," said Miss French. "No further questions, sir."
"Miss Wells?"
"Thank you, sir," said the other woman. "Just one question, Constable."
"Of course."
"You said to my learned friend that nine-year old girls don't start fights with teenagers. What if the girl was a metahuman, wouldn't that make a difference?"
"It's possible, but I don't think that's likely," said the constable. "And I had the opportunity to check that with Dr Alanna Montrose, SCOPE's consultant on adolescent psychology and the psychology of metahumans. She agreed with my conclusions."
"No further questions, sir," said Miss Wells.
"Does the Crown have anything further for this witness, Miss Wilson?"
"No sir," confirmed Miss Wilson.
"Will you be calling any further witnesses?"
"No sir, that concludes the case for the prosecution."
"Miss French, Miss Wells, is the defence ready to proceed?"
Miss French got to her feet, "With the court's indulgence, I would appreciate a few minutes to confer with my clients?"
"I see," said the chairman. "Miss Wells, would you also like some time with your client?"
"If that would be possible, sir?"
"Lou?"
"We have a shoplifting charge next on the docket, sir," replied the clerk. "I can have the usher see if the parties have arrived?"
"Please."
The clerk nodded to the usher. She quickly consulted her tablet, then rose and left the court room. She came back a minute or two later and nodded.
"Apparently, they are available, sir."
"You can have thirty minutes," the chairman told the defence barristers.
"Thank you, sir," echoed both women and then rose and hustled out.
"Miss Wilson…?"
"I will see you in thirty minutes, sir," confirmed the woman and rose. On the way out, she motioned for Charley and the others to follow her, which they did.
****
Court Number 1, Manchester Youth Court,
Manchester M3.
1440 BST.
"Is the defence ready to proceed?" asked the chairman.
"Sir, my clients are prepared to plead guilty to a modified charge," said Miss French.
"I see. Which is?"
"I submit that the case for assault with intent to rob is not proven, but my clients are prepared to plead guilty to a charge of common assault."
"Miss Wells?"
"My client is also willing to plead to that charge, sir."
"Miss Wilson, is this acceptable to the Crown?"
"The Crown would be prepared to accept a plea to common assault, sir."
"Then the court will retire to consider our verdict."
"All rise," said the clerk.
They got to their feet while the magistrates filed out.
"What was that about?" asked Charley.
"I'm not sure," admitted Ginny. "Maybe they realised that the magistrates weren't buying their 'innocent bystanders' line and where going for damage limitation…"
"That would be my guess," agreed Miss Blake. "Even if you leave it until the last minute, you always get less if you plead guilty."
****
The Orchard,
Royctonshire.
1700 BST.
"Recognised, Protector B147."
Alanna was waiting for her. "How did it go?"
"They pled down to common assault, got a twelve-month detention and training orders."
"How's Charley?"
"She's fine," said Ginny. "Having some difficulties at school. Hopefully once word gets around that three of her attackers have been found guilty it'll calm down…"
"Hopefully," said Alanna. "Did her mother turn up?"
"Nope," said Ginny, darkly. "Apparently her bingo was more important."
Alanna sighed, "I wish I could say I was surprised to hear that, but I'm not."
"Can't we do anything?"
"Unfortunately not," replied Alanna regretfully. "But I've made Manchester Social Services aware of our concerns."
"I hope that's enough."
"I hope so too," said Alanna. "Are you going to the Burrow this weekend?"
Ginny shook her head. "Mum and Dad will be disappointed, but with all the visits to see Charley I'm too far behind on my homework."
"Okay, I've leave you to it," said Alanna and left the room.
A/N: PC Waterman and the Chatsworth Council Estate appeared in Shameless and are the property of Company Pictures and Channel 4, Alex Wilson appeared in Kavanagh QC and is the property of Central Television and ITV.