Title: Prisoner of the Light

Summary: There has been a great betrayal against the Light. An antidote to those Azkaban stories.

Disclaimer: See Prologue

Notes: I warn you, this will cast a few characters that I like a great deal in a rather unfavourable light. Also, as this is a little darker, or meant to be, I've tried in some bits to write in a slightly different style than is my inclination. I'm not sure how succesful that has been. You tell me I guess.

Oh, and this takes place before the Prologue, in case anyone out there is confused. The last part takes place before the beginning of this chapter, but also before the prologue. It makes complete sense.

Chapter 1- On Trial

At first the whole seemed like a farce, a giant joke. No-one believed the charges that the Ministry was placing against one Harry James Potter, not even Fudge. Fudge was on his way out, swept away in the tide of his own lies, promises and bullshit. This was a pathetic last attempt to seize control that probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but that now, in the court room, seemed like suicide. Fudge was drowning, and even he knew it.

The court room was filled with well-wishers and presided over by Dumbledore. The Weasleys, Hermione, Remus Lupin, most of the Order, all of them were there, and alight with the knowledge of Harry's innocence. Even Snape seemed merely bored. Fudge was sweating.

Having made such a mess of the last trial Harry had been in, Fudge had hired the equivalent of a lawyer. Blair was rich, connected, intelligent and totally in league with Voldemort, though nothing had ever been proved. A Malfoy with short dark hair and a different name. To everyone's surprise, he called Harry to the stand. Harry's supporters nearly cheered. Now this could be over quickly.

"Are you Harry James Potter?" began the prosecutuion.

"Yes," Harry's voice was calm.

"And you claim to be innocent of the charges levied against you?"

"Yes," came the reply, with even more confidence.

"Well then, lets get this over with quickly. Are you willing to submit to veritaserum to prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

Some people in the courtroom began to believe Blair might be as innocent as he claimed. Fudge attempted to signal Blair over. Harry opened his mouth to reply, looking a bit more uncertain this time, but Dumbledore raised a hand and stopped him.

"While I am in no doubt that Mr Potter would willingly take veritaserum if he could, I am afraid that that is impossible. Tests have shown that Harry is severly allergic to the potion and would not surivive a dose long enough to testify."

Blair arched an elegant eyebrow. "How very convienient. In that case, I suppose we shall have nothing to go on but your word Mr Potter. I'm afraid that-"

Dumbledore interrupted again. "Actually, that is not the case. Knowing of his allergy, and wanting every opportunity to prove his innocence to the court, Mr Potter actually requested before the trial that I look for an alternative truth serum in case one should be needed. I believe Proffessor Snape, Potion Master at Hogwarts, has found this alternative."

Snape stood up at a motion from Dumbledore and addressed the court. "I have. It is much milder than veritaserum and has the effect not of compelling truth, but of supressing lies. A person under the influence of it can choose not to answer a question, but cannot lie if they speak. It is counteracted by drinking water. Too much of it will still produce an allergic reaction in the witness, but we should be able to get at least one dose worth twenty minutes of truth into Potter before he swells up even more."

Dumbledore levied a severe but fond look at his Potions Master at the last bit and Minister Fudge, who had been looking a little better at the news that veritaserum could not be used on Harry Potter, went very pale and started to loosen his tie.

"If that is the case," began Blair, barely faltering at the unexpected news, "Can I ask that the court adjourn until such a time as the prosecution have a suitable potions maker to-"

With the utmost politeness, Dumbledore interupted again, "That won't be nesesarry Mr Blair. I believe we already have some here. Severus?"

Blair had no choice but to aquiesce. With great ceremony, Snape poured a goblet of the potion from a large stone jug and set it and a glass of water before Harry. With a grimace at the glutinous liquid, Harry knocked back the potion and leaned back in his seat for the cross-examination.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes Blair conducted a detailed interrogation of Harry Potter, establishing without a doubt his dislike of the victims, his tragic childhood and his exact movements prior to the murders. He failed, however, to ask the question that everyone in the courtroom really wanted him to ask. At seventeen minutes past the ingestion of the potion Snape felt it nescessary to stand up and inform Blair that the potion would only act for three minutes more and would he please get to the point. Blair thanked him for the reminder, fixed Harry with a steely glare and paused dramatically. Certain members of the audience rolled their eyes and the Wizengamot chief was on the verge of asking the question himself when Blair finally spat it out.

"Harry Potter. Did you kill your uncle and aunt, Mr and Mrs Dursley, and their son Dudley?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer. "N-" he shut it. Coughed. The crowd stirred. He apologised and tried again. This time he broke out into full blown, body racking coughs. Shaking, he reached for his glass of water. Blair stopped him- that would negate the potion. The prosecutor repeated the question. Harry gathered control of himself and tried once again to answer. The coughing this time was more choking. The prosecutor stepped forward and leaned in, still repeating the question. Harry kept coughing, his face red and blood beginning to appear on his hands as he hacked into them. The prosecutor yelled the question into his face.

"Did you kill them?"

Harry knocked the goblet of potion off the stand in his convulsions and the thick, viscous liquid, the dark black-red colour of congealing blood began to spread ever so slowly out from where he sat across the stone floor. The members of the court sat in disbelief, horror and total silence as Harry was finally allowed to take a drink of water. The choking stopped abruptly. There was denial on his face he looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. Fudge was looking like he just declared himself emperor of the world.

"Th- There must be something wrong with the potion" Harry managed. Snape sneered at this, despite the look of shock that had adorned his face too. Still disbelieving Ron stood up in the stands.

"How do we know the potion isn't wrong? We have to test it." Next to him, Hermione nodded, and they both looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. Fudge looked like he might protest, but before he could, Dumbledore had already agreed. Ron, Dumbledore, Madam Bones and a random member of the audience were selected, and one by one they all took a sip of the potion and answered questions posed by Blair, first instructed to attempt truth, then lies, then truth. With frightning regularity they all answered, choked and answered. Not even Ron could argue that the potion was anything other than perfect as he struggled manfully to tell the court that he was in fact a Slytherin girl.

The mood in the courtroom had swung. Anger, fear and terror now permeated the air as the last of the four test subjects drank their water. There could be no denying it had worked. There could be no denying that Harry had lied. There could be no stopping it as the Wizengamot declared Harry guilty and Fudge triumphantly lead the Dementors to drag Harry away, his pleas finally silenced as the power of the Dementors washed over him.

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All of Harry's friends knew about the new water feature that the Dursleys were insisting he build in his last summer there. A natural oval pond with a tasteful fountain as a centerpiece that would fill the garden with the soothing sound of gently falling water. Make everyone want to go to the loo more like, Harry joked. Maybe I'll wait till my birthday and do it with magic he said, give them the fright they deserve. Harry's friends laughed when he said this, knowing that Harry had never gotten along well the Dursleys and was particularly reluctant to go back to the muggles this summer. Him and Dumbledore had had an argument over it, or that was what they said in the common room. Harry had gone to his office one night and come back silent and angry. But they also knew that he didn't have it in him to cause long term harm to them. Or not serious long term harm. Maybe another tail. All the same, Dumbledore was careful to procure a piece of the Ministry's enchanted parchment, the one that would show what spells were performed within the wards of Privet Drive. Planning to watch it just in case Harry got a bit carried away jinxing his cousin, but not expecting it. On the day of Harry's birthday Dumbledore watched the parchment and chuckled at the spells that came up. Three body-binds and three tickling charms. That was all. Nothing that wouldn't wear off within the hour.

Less than half an hour later the wards around the Number Four Privet Drive collapsed. Dumbledore sped to the house to find that all was quiet. Harry was asleep in his room. The Dursleys were lying at the bottom of the filled completed pond in full body-binds.

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