Chapter 2: The Trial

Harry Potter leaned against the wall of his cell waiting for the dementor to move away from his cell. He was aware of a digging pain in his back. As he regained control of his limbs, he shrugged out of the huge overcoat that belonged to one of the Azkaban prisoners who was dead. The coat of a corpse was his only protection from the cold of Azkaban. He tentatively touched his back feeling a small piece jutting out and blood trickling slowly. Two of the prisoners sitting behind him in the boat earlier kept hitting him with something sharp. No doubt they were celebrating their new-found freedom. They weren't so jubilant on the journey back to Azkaban, he thought wryly.

Harry slowly moved to a corner of his cell retrieving a small piece of cloth that used to be white and a bowl with jagged edges where the china was broken. After filling the broken bowl with a little of his drinking water he moved back to the slab of stone which was considered the bed. He sat down partially removing his shirt and soaking the small cloth in some water.

Harry was trying to wash the blood off his back but his arm couldn't reach the wound. Every movement sent pain shooting along his spine. Harry was wondering whether the small piece embedded in his back was glass or metal when he caught the sound of footsteps. He put the washcloth down as the door of his cell was opened. He just watched neutrally as Albus Dumbledore entered his cell followed by Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. Harry straightened his shirt, stood up facing the look of intense sadness and remorse of the men.

"What ?" Harry asked in a flat tone when it became apparent that none of them were about to speak.

"Uhh... Harry, we've come to get you. Come along," Dumbledore finally spoke.

Harry stared at him causing him to drop his gaze to the floor. Harry looked at each man in turn and none managed to look him in the eye. The look on Sirius' face was one of pure anguish. Harry picked up his tattered overcoat and slung it over his shoulders.

"I haven't eaten my lunch yet" Harry motioned his head toward the bowl of soggy bread.

"Uhm... you can eat something later" Dumbledore suggested almost timidly.

Harry shrugged and prepared to follow them. As they walked through the dark hall-ways of Azkaban, Harry found himself walking ahead of them rather than behind them. They walked in silence until Harry suddenly stopped sucking in his breath. He half-clutched, half-leaned against the brick wall near him.

"I need a minute." He whispered to the others without looking at them.

Harry began to slide to the floor causing all four men to step forward. They wanted to help him but they were somehow afraid to touch him. The cold feeling that identified dementor swept over them and slowly faded away.

"The dementors probably just passed on the floor above us" Sirius told them as they kept their eyes on Harry.

Slowly Harry dragged in a breath before getting up still holding the wall for support. And then he was walking again. The others followed him without a word. They had almost reached the outer doors when they were met by two stuffy-looking Aurors.

"Harry Potter, you are hereby summoned to your trial that will be held in court shortly" one of the Aurors stated after having cleared his throat.

"Trial? What trial? What are you talking about?" Sirius raised the question.

The two Aurors explained amid protests how Minister Fudge and some members of the Wizengamot thought an investigation was needed since the stories about the events of the day were so varied. Despite all the protestations the two Aurors took Harry with them telling the others to save their arguments and explanations for the court.

Harry was escorted by the Aurors to the courtroom at the Ministry wearing the customary handcuffs all convicts wore. It looked as if most of the wizarding world was there clogging up the corridors and stairways. Harry was mostly oblivious to their staring and speaking to him or about him. The atmosphere there brought the nightmarish memories of his first trial to mind. He was still as alone as he was then but he no longer felt so lost. The crowds and their opinions no longer mattered to him. They could think and say whatever they wanted. He was nothing but juicy gossip to them.

His memories of the trial became even more vivid when he found that the audience of the court-room was pretty much the same. It were also the same judges. Dumbledore and his earlier troop were already seated. The sight of Ron and Hermione's miserable faces among others after so long drowned Harry in his memories. His best friends! The same ones who were alongside him through all his adventures in their years at Hogwarts. The same ones for whom Harry would have gladly sacrificed his life in the past. The very same ones whose friendship had turned to hatred after the Triwizard Tournament. Harry had long ago learnt to deal with the suspicion and hatred of some of his schoolmates and expect his best friends' unwavering support and loyalty. He had become dependant on them. He had needed them like never before during that time. And they had said such hurtful things to his face. They had given him some of the worst memories of his life. Never again! Never again would he put his faith in friends. Never again would he become dependant on others.

Harry was caught in his memories as the trial began. The opposing sides stated their evidence and conclusions. The audience both inside and outside the courtroom made their comments loudly. Harry sat through all this, showing no emotion, his gaze fixed unseeingly on something.

"Mr. Potter...Mr. Potter?" Amelia Bones, one of the judges tried to get his attention.

Harry looked up startled as if he had just remembered where he was. He turned his blank eyes to Mrs. Bones.

"Mr. Potter, did you kill Lord Voldemort today?" she asked causing most of those present to flinch.

"Yes" Harry stated calmly in the hushed silence.

"You know what that means, don't you?" she asked causing Harry to sigh.

"Yes" Harry replied without emotion.

"Seven years in Azkaban for murdering a wizard." He continued when the silence continued.

The silence was deafening. Everyone gaped at the boy sitting there so calmly.

"My sentence was fourteen years originally. Now it will be twenty-one years. How many years have passed since my first sentence?" Harry asked unaware of the blows of pain felt by some in the audience.

Even the judges were shocked at Harry's pronouncement. Had he become so jaded and mistrustful of people that he expected to be sent to prison for ridding them of the evil maniac? The complete lack of emotion in the emerald eyes was agony to those who had once been close to him and half-convinced others of his madness.

"uhhh.....It has been over a year since your imprisonment. In fact it has been almost thirteen months" Mrs. Bones answered.

"One year? Just ONE year has passed?" the first signs of emotion on Harry Potter's face was one of disbelief and then despair.

The uncomfortable silence grew. The lady judge was saying something again but Harry couldn't focus. Just one year has passed. That means another twenty years in Azkaban for me. Who cares anyway. The way those dementors effect me all day long and the nightmares I get at night will take my sanity before long. The trial and discussions continued around him but he was lost in thought once again.

"But he still killed Cedric Diggory. Diggory was dead before he got back to Hogwarts" Minister Fudge yelled shaking his fist at one of the other judges.

"He did not. He-who-must-not-be-named was responsible for Diggory's death" the old, bearded wizard replied just as heatedly then flushed as he caught Amos Diggory's eye.

The next instant everyone in the courtroom began bickering about it with their neighbors. The noise continued to escalate as Harry looked around him bemusedly. Their opinion mattered nothing to him. Cedric's death was also one of the worst memories of his life and he had relived it many times thanks to the dementors and his nightmares. At first his death was one of the things that almost pushed Harry to the brink of insanity, but reliving it again and again made him see that he could not have prevented it anymore than he could have prevented his imprisonment. The argument continued until Dumbledore finally suggested that Harry's memories be viewed in the court to decide the matter. The suggestion was discussed and most of the judges agreed and in the end even Fudge had to assent but he demanded that all of Harry's memories concerning Cedric should be viewed since Fudge accused Harry of helping or at least not preventing Cedric's death out of jealousy.

Dumbledore approached Harry and gently asked him whether he would allow the courtroom to view all of his memories concerning Cedric. Some time ago Harry might have refused. He used to be such a private person. But he no longer cared what people thought and he didn't care what they did or saw. He just shrugged at Dumbledore's question. Taking his shrug as consent, Dumbledore pointed his wand to Harry's temple and bellowed the incantation. Something misty began to seep out of Harry's temple and curl into a ball growing larger. As Dumbledore stepped back the ball of mist gathered near the wall of the courtroom and started to expand shaping a huge misty screen. It looked like a cinema screen, Harry thought detachedly. Everyone held their breath as all of Harry's memories that were related to Cedric began to unfold on the screen. They could see and hear everything that Harry experienced.

They watched, Harry first meeting Cedric on the quidditch pitch. The game began in the heavy rain. The dementors gathered on the ground as Harry saw them from his broomstick. The faint screams that became clearer as his mother's pleas for his life as Harry began to fall off his broomstick. Then blankness.

The next memory was that of the Quidditch World Cup, Mr. Diggory bragging about his son. Then it was the announcement of the Champions for the Triwizard Tournament followed by Harry's conversation with him afterwards when he wasn't entirely convinced that Harry hadn't cheated to get his name in the Goblet.

The memories during the tournament continued. The jeers and insults Harry endured from all those who supported Cedric. Seeing the other Champions surrounded by fans and friends who looked at him as if he was a nasty bug. The 'Potter stinks!' pin-badges that the Slytherins wore as Ron just ignored Harry in front of Potions.

All these memories continued to flash and Minister Fudge was looking quite pleased that his accusation of jealousy was being proven right. That smile vanished completely as Harry informed Cedric about the dragons in the First Task.

Then came the memories of asking Cho to the dance and being told that she was going with Cedric. Watching them dance during the Yule Ball and then seeing them together holding hands around the school. The memories of Cedric's help for the Second Task and then the Second Task itself.

Finally, the memories of the Third Task surfaced. Harry rescuing Cedric from Viktor's curse and then again Harry saving Cedric from the overgrown spider ending with both of them arguing that the other should take the cup. Everyone in the courtroom sat in shocked silence seeing the rebirth of Lord Voldemort. They watched as he cursed the Triwizard cup with the curse that killed so many people. They watched as Harry portkeyed back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body fulfilling his final wish. They watched as the touch of a young mediwizard on the cup activated the curse.

And with that final memory the misty screen evaporated. For a while there was complete silence in the courtroom. Everyone was too overcome with emotion to speak properly. Almost everyone was fighting back tears and many failed to hold back the tears. Their hearts wrung in sorrow for the young man who had been through so much in his young life. Even the hardest skeptics could no longer deny how valiant and honorable his actions had been through it all. So many children grew up listening to their parents teach them morals and honor and integrity, yet so many were led astray. And here was an orphan who'd never had anyone to teach him all that but still he was the best among them.

The judges discussed the memories briefly but the verdict was already clear. Minister Fudge reluctantly announced that Harry Potter was cleared of all charges and would receive a million galleons as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment and reward for defeating Voldemort. Harry didn't seem to hear any of it as his gaze was still fixed on the same spot.

When Harry looked up again the judges were shuffling their papers and people were talking. Mrs. Bones approached Harry and smiled tentatively as the judges and the audience began to flow out of the courtroom. She gently retold him the verdict. Harry looked at her in confusion for a minute.

"Oh!" he replied still looking a bit bewildered at the verdict. He looked around and saw the Aurors leaving the room without a glance towards him. He also saw that Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hermione, the Weasleys and the two former Marauders were still there, waiting for him, their tears not dried yet. Harry ignored them and turned back to Mrs. Bones as she explained that the compensation money would be deposited in Gringgots and he could access it soon.

"Okay!" was all he said in return once she was finished. Harry turned and walked out of the courtroom without a backward glance to the people waiting for him.

"Harry.." Hermione's tearful voice halted his steps for a moment but he continued to walk. He did not want to hear anything they had to say. Why should he? He had pleaded and pleaded with them to hear him out when he was accused, but they never listened.

Harry took the lift to the main floor of the Ministry and looked around for a way out. As he was standing there, he was surrounded by a mob of reports rushing at him, asking 'him how he felt' and 'was the compensation enough' and other such questions. He just looked at them tiredly. The look in his eyes shut them up.

"Write whatever you like. After all, you've never cared about the truth. In the end you will all just write whatever people want to read. Why bother asking me at all?" he answered them blandly. For once the reporters were speechless as they watched him walk off.

As he wandered away from the reporters, he came to a set of fireplaces on opposite sides of the walls. He saw an old wizard sitting in a tall stool holding out floo powder. A lady came and showed him a card then took some floo powder and flooed out of the Ministry. Another woman came with two children and handed the wizard a sickle and some knuts and took floo powder for herself and her children before flooing out also. The kindly old wizard looked at Harry and smiled.

"Would you like to go somewhere, son?" he asked gently nudging the bowl of floo powder in his direction.

"I....I don't have any money" Harry answered though he dearly wanted to get away from all the staring he was getting.

"It's okay, son. For this once, it's on me" the old man said, holding out the bowl.

Harry hesitated for a moment then accepted. He flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. His first thought was to get some money and a place to sleep since it was evening already. His stomach growled reminding him that he hadn't had lunch. The thought of never having to eat soggy bread again finally brought the realization. He was free. He would never have to go back to Azkaban. He hadn't lost his sanity. He had defeated Voldemort. Harry could feel a little tickling sensation in his gut. It took him a moment to realize that it was something like relief or happiness. Though he couldn't be sure. Those feelings seemed all but alien to him now.

Harry raised his head to see everyone in the Leaky Cauldron staring at him. They were all looking at pieces of parchment that looked like brochures. They had been passing it around. Harry saw one of those parchment on the bar close to where he stood. There was something written on it.

'Harry Potter was cleared of all charges. Madam Bones explained that he would be receiving one million galleons as compensation.'

As Harry watched, the words vanished and new ones began to appear.

'Harry Potter has just left the Ministry building. He declined to comment when questioned about the trial.'

So the whole world already knew? Good! At least no one would call the aurors on him. His thoughts became grim as he headed for the back door. He would have to walk the whole length of Diagon Alley to reach Gringgots. Diagon Alley had been one of his worst memories too.

FLASHBACK

After the Third Task, when so many people had been killed by the dark curse, Harry had been immediately expelled from Hogwarts. The tracing charms cast by the teachers on the cup had shown traces similar to Harry's wand signature. He had tried to explain about the brother wands and Dumbledore had agreed with him but the teachers were concerned with the other students' safety and demanded that Harry be expelled immediately. They were all gathered there and the angry parents were there too. They had condemned Harry without even hearing what he had to say. He was a danger, they said. He would kill them all if he could, they said. He was on Voldemort's side, they said. They had demanded that Harry's wand be broken right there in front of them. Dumbledore had tried to calm them half-heartedly but the anguish at the death of loved ones made them stubborn and angry. And Harry had to watch with tears in his eyes while two wizards held him tightly by the arms as Dumbledore snapped his precious wand in two.

He had expected to be carted off to some holding cell where he would stay for the duration of his trial, but it turned out that the rickety laws of the wizarding world stated that the accused was free until the verdict had been reached.

McGonagall had led him stiffly to Gryffindor Tower so that he may retrieve his belongings. He had tried to plead tearfully to her but she had not even spared him a glance, told him to be quiet. Harry had gone up to his dorm alone as McGonagall waited in the Common Room amidst the angry and hateful glances that were directed at him. Harry had entered the dorm-room to find a fire burning in the fireplace. His dorm-mates were standing near the fire, their eyes filled with anger and hatred. Harry looked at the fire to see all his belongings being swallowed by the flames.

"NO" he cried as he saw the photo album with his parents' pictures burning in the fire. He had lunged at it, not caring that both his hands were burning. He had tried to rescue it but it was too hot. He couldn't save it. He only managed to snatch out one picture of his parents before it was eaten up by the flames. This picture had also been burnt at the edges on three sides. He had clutched it to his chest as he got up, his eyes filled with pain. His father's invisibility cloak had already turned to ashes. Nothing else was left. Clutching the single photo, he descended to the Common Room.

Harry had been escorted by two angry teachers to the gates of Hogwarts before they were banged shut in his face. He had never felt so alone in his life. Voldemort was back. Cedric was dead. So many other people were dead. And everyone thought he was responsible for all of it. That was the first time Harry wished for death. Harry spent the whole night walking aimlessly feeling numb. In the morning, he was sitting at the far edge of Hogsmeade when two aurors came to get him for the first day of his trails.

At the end of the first day, Harry had gone to Diagon Alley. He wasn't going to give up without a fight even if he had no one on his side. He had had no one on his side all the time before he came to Hogwarts. He needed money, a place to stay, some parchment and quill, a book on the law and other things. He had gone to Gringgots and retrieved money. The goblins were no more nasty than usual. They couldn't care less if he was Harry Potter just as long as he didn't try to rob them.

It was everyone else at Diagon Alley that had given the dementors another weapon to destroy Harry. He had thought that he was used to rejection. After all his relatives considered him a freak, he never had any friends in elementary school, Slytherins hated him since First Year, and the other three Houses had turned against him on different occasions. But it was in Diagon Alley that Harry learned the unforgettable taste of total rejection. It was here that he learned to be bitter. Harry desperately needed things from the shops and he had the money to pay for it but for the first time in his life he was treated like an orphan beggar.

END OF FLASHBACK

Harry halted his thoughts before they went too far. He did not want to remember their cruelty. He had done enough remembering in Azkaban. He did not want to buy anything from Diagon Alley ever again. He was going straight to Gringgots then straight back.

And at just that moment, a wizard opened the passage between Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron. Harry used the opportunity to step into Diagon Alley and headed to Gringgots not looking left or right. The sky became cloudy. The few people who were buying things there, stopped and pointed to him and whispered to each other, but thankfully no one spoke to him.

Harry had no trouble getting money out of Gringgots. He kept some of the galleons but he exchanged the bulk of his withdrawal into muggle money. As he came out, the sky had become stormy. He began to walk quickly towards the Leaky Cauldron. As he passed the shops, he noticed the owners had all come to the entrances of their shops, their tormented expressions and remorseful eyes on Harry.

A strong wind began to blow making him shiver and his ragged overcoat flap all around him. He pulled the coat closer around him. Madam Malkin watched as he passed her shop without so much of a glance at her. Her heart went out to the brave young man who was holding his head high even though his clothes were torn and dirty. She remembered clearly the day during the trial he had come to her shop to get clothes. He didn't have anything except the Hogwarts robes he had been wearing. She had told him just what she thought of him and his money and told him to get out and never come again.

Harry passed Flourish and Blotts, his chin jutting out even further. He hardly blinked even when Mr. Flourish raised his hand as if to say something. But what could he say? He cursed himself a thousand times as he remembered the day over a year ago when Harry had come to his shop in desperate need. Mr. Flourish's youngest son went to Hogwarts and he was one of the victims of the dark curse that Harry had supposedly cast. The loss of his son had made him want to lash out at Harry. He had refused to let Harry buy the quill, parchment and the book on Wizarding Laws. Harry had pleaded and begged. He needed the book for his trial. He wouldn't leave even after being told to get lost. In the end Mr. Flourish had taken him by the collar and shoved him outside. Harry had fallen on his face as the people around him had laughed and insulted him. No one deserved that kind of humiliation.

Harry passed Magical Menagerie which had been bought by Mr. Warsh who also owned Eeylops Owl Emporium. Something caught Harry's eye. Harry turned his head sharply to the owl-perch outside the window to see a white owl with black wings sitting there. For an instant Harry had thought that it was Hedwig. Of course it wasn't Hedwig. Hedwig was dead. For a moment his eyes clouded with pain at the loss of the only friend that had stayed by him when the world had turned against him. Mr. Warsh felt as if a hand was squeezing his heart as he was only too aware of Harry's grief. Mr. Warsh had spent all his life around animals and he knew the value of unquestioning love and loyalty that only an animal could give. He was responsible for that grief.

Harry had bought Hedwig from him. That day when Harry had come to Diagon Alley, he had stood and watched too. It seemed so right that the 'villain' be alone and friendless, insulted and humiliated by all. But then Hedwig had come flying and perched on his shoulder. Harry had looked at Hedwig and smiled even after all he had just endured. Mr. Warsh's blood boiled. Murderers didn't have the right to smile. They should be made as miserable as they had made others. As Harry was passing his shop, he moved in a flash and grabbed Hedwig off his shoulder. Harry had tried to get her back but a couple of youths close by had grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. Mr. Warsh had thought to give the 'murderer' a taste of his own medicine. Harry had struggled and trashed but he couldn't save his owl as her neck was snapped. He had stayed motionless staring horrified as Mr. Warsh threw the dead owl to the ground then trodden on it too.

Mr. Warsh had never regretted anything more than his actions on that day. He watched with silent tears falling from his eyes as the white-haired figure resumed his journey. Something had been making a racket in one of the cages for some time now. Mr. Warsh turned his head distractedly towards the noise. It was the cubs. They were clawing at their cage, clamoring to get out.

Could it be? Did it mean what he thought it meant? The cubs were twins, with pure black fur. They were identical save for the fact that one of them had bright green eyes, and the other had honey-gold eyes. They would grow up to be male Tigercats. Twins were very rare among these magical creatures. And Tigercats chose their master when they were cubs. Mr. Warsh released them from the cage and let them run out of the shop. They had sensed the aura of the human they wished to be with and he prayed with all his heart that it was who he thought.

Harry had managed to walk through Diagon Alley and back. He was almost there now, not much farther. The sky was getting stormy and he needed to get to a hotel before it began to pour. He heard a little scrunching sound on the pebbled road behind him before suddenly feeling something pulling and clamping at his overcoat. He half-turned to find what looked like two black kittens clawing his coat as if begging to be picked up. The noises coming out of their throats was half-growl and half-purr.

It took a moment for Harry to gather his wits. He looked up to see Mr. Warsh standing at the entrance of his shop, tears streaming down his face. He seemed to nod his head as if encouraging Harry to embrace them. He looked back down at the kittens. No, he couldn't have them. He didn't want them. They couldn't take Hedwig's place. He didn't have any place to stay himself, where would he keep pets? With these arguments in mind Harry tried to pull his coat away from them. But their claws were so sharp as were their teeth. And they seemed determined not to let Harry go. Harry wouldn't give in either. He tugged and pulled and managed to free his overcoat only to find the kittens sinking their claws firmly on his torn jeans. Harry hobbled over to where an empty carton was lying by the road and taking it somehow managed to trap the kittens in it. They continued their half-growling pleas but Harry turned and walked away, much to the disappointment of Mr. Warsh. Harry's heart was heavy as he walked away. Mr. Warsh watched him go. No matter, the cubs had chosen their master, they would become Harry's companions sooner or later. They weren't called magical creatures for nothing.