A/N – So here we are, chapter sixteen

A/N – So here we are, chapter sixteen. I decided to get it up early, for some odd reason. Maybe the enthusiasm that a lot have people have been showing towards my fic is starting to get to me. ;)

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen

"Now, as I understand it, you are here on the charges of abuse, grievous bodily harm with intent and harassment. Do you have any statement to make about that, remembering that everything you say is being recorded?" The Judge, who had introduced himself as Mantros, asked Vernon, peering over his oval-shaped glasses gravely.

"I didn't touch the little fool, he got all that when he fell off his ruddy broomstick!" Vernon snarled.

"There is no record of Mr. Potter using magic over the holidays, Mr. Dursley, and as such I find your claim extremely hard to accept," Judge Mantros frowned slightly at Vernon, who glowered back.

Vernon's chin jutted out – reminding Harry and awful lot of Dudley – and he asked, "How can you be sure?"

Mantros sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, before turning to Harry. "I don't suppose you would play a position on your House's Quidditch team, would you Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded slightly.

The Judge smiled. "Then you wouldn't mind giving a demonstration of your skills on a broom then, would you?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't mind at all, Sir."

"Good. What position do you play, Harry?"

"Seeker, Sir."

"Would someone please run down to Quidditch Supplies and ask the Storekeeper if he would mind loaning us a Snitch and a broom?" One of the people sitting in the back row ran out.

"Well then, we'd better head on down to the Quidditch field then, hadn't we?" Mantros said, clapping his hands in a way that suggested that he was extremely glad to have a reason to get out of the Courthouse. He led them out of the building and down a street that Harry had never noticed before, which turned out to lead straight to a large grassy field. Once there they waited for the man who had left to get the snitch and broom. When he had arrived the man passed the Snitch and Broom to Judge Mantros who passed the broom to Harry and opened the box with the Snitch in it. The broom was a Cleansweep Seven that was in extremely good condition. Harry mounted it and took off, flying up until he was level with the roofs of the stores nearby. The Snitch was released and he waited, just as he had done at Quidditch training the day earlier, to give it a chance to get away. His eyes slipped closed and he listened to the breeze, feeling its soft touch stroke his cheek like a gentle hand. After a minute or so he opened his eyes and began to look for the golden light that was the Snitch.

In a dark corner out of sight of all the people from the trial watching Harry, another person stood. He frowned as he watched Harry close his eyes and shook his head. He had believed that maybe this boy was different, but he appeared to be mistaken. The boy was just like all the others lately, arrogant and too sure of their own ability.

A flash of gold caught Harry's eye as he hovered above the field. The Snitch was hovering just in front of the Judge, mere inches from the ground. Harry frowned for a moment before heading downwards, blazing towards the Snitch like shooting stars race towards the Earth. He turned on the broom so that he was hanging upside down, and rushed along just above the ground, his hair brushing blades of grass. He put out his hand, felt it close around something both metallic and feathery, then turned back upright and halted, hovering just above the ground in front of the Judge, who was looking slightly afraid – most probably because of the way Harry had hurtled at him – and slightly awed. Harry held out his hand and opened it slowly to reveal the Snitch, which hung in the air just above his hand, knowing somehow that it had been caught and was to be put back in it's box. Mantros drew in a breath and proclaimed that there was no way Harry could have gotten his injuries from falling off his broom.

The man who stood unnoticed in the corner sucked in a breath. He had never seen anyone with so much control over a broom, and the speed with which the boy had caught the Snitch was frankly incredible. He would have to ask Mantros about him later.

'I wonder who he is," The man thought, watching the group head back to the Courthouse. He replayed what he had seen in his mind, and smiled.

"Well, do you have anything else to say in your defence, Mr. Dursley?" The Judge asked, slight boredom infiltrating his voice.

"Yeah. What do you have to prove it?" Vernon growled, arms crossed over his ample stomach.

"Do you have any evidence?" Mantros asked Dumbledore, who stood up and handed him several pictures. The man studied them for a moment before handing the pictures over to the Jury and asking if there were any witnesses. Professor Snape sighed and stood, told the court what had happened, and sat down again. By this time the Jury and the people who had come to watch the trial were glaring at Vernon in a most unpleasant manner, and he had turned a kind of grey that reminded Harry of dirty water. The Jury left the room to make their decision about Vernon, and returned not long after. They took one look at Vernon before turning to the Judge and pronouncing him guilty. Mantros nodded and turned to Mr. Dursley.

"You will spend fifteen years in a High Security Prison for Muggles, and all your properties and businesses are now stripped of you, and given to your wife and son. I also hereby proclaim that Professor Dumbledore and the staff of Hogwarts are to be Mr. Potter's guardian from now, if they have no objections."

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "We would be honoured to look after Harry, Sir." The Judge smiled back, and proclaimed the trial over. Harry stumbled to his feet and headed to the door after Professor Dumbledore and Snape, his head whirling.

"Professor…Does this mean that I'll be living at Hogwarts from now on? For good?" Harry asked Albus Dumbledore, a faint ray of hope beginning to shine on his face.

Dumbledore smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes Harry. You'll be living at Hogwarts from now on."

To Harry's surprise Professor Snape nodded in agreement with Dumbledore as they headed to the fountain, and passed through the secret passage. This time Harry heard the word that Dumbledore muttered.

"Fate."