AN: I was satisfied that a lot of you disliked Harry's attitude towards Hermione and how she just accepts it. I am happy, because that is exactly what I was aiming for, as much as I hated to do it. You see any person, especially with Harry's upbringing, wouldn't be so gentle towards people that basically abandoned them after a traumatic experience. So taking that into consideration plus the fact that he doesn't know what he feels for Hermione (yet) it's a recipe for disaster.
As to why Hermione accepts it, one of you got it spot on; Ron. Simple as that. She is used to worse. But she also knows she mucked things up so she feels she deserves Harry's resentment.
CHAPTER 6: THE TRIAL
Today was his birthday. He mentally snickered at that thought. Apart from being taught to never celebrate his birthday, he hasn't ever felt the need to. Since he got the message that his relatives resented him, he decided that each year the day 31st of July was on a list called 'Years of survival' and with every birthday, it was checked off of said list. He supposed that every other human being would find this sad but he has never seen their side. Hell, the first Christmas he celebrated as a kid was almost 4 years ago.
He knew the others would try and make it a big deal but he would swiftly deny them the notion. He appreciated, but he didn't want it, not yet anyway. There were more important things at hand. Like the hearing-turned trial- in two days.
Once again, after finishing his bathroom routine, there was a knock on the door. This time though Sirius waited for him to let him enter instead of bustling through.
"Well I hoped it would be under better circumstances but, Happy Birthday!" he exclaimed with a stupid grin and proceeded to hug his godson.
"Aren't you supposed to give me a present?" Harry replied after breaking the embrace.
"Do you want a present?" Sirius said with a raised eyebrow. He knew Harry didn't think much of the gesture but it was something they would work on, on the long-term. His amusement evaporated though as he continued.
"Even if I wanted to give you something, which I do, I don't have the liberty to do so. As long as I am being kept in here the only thing I can offer is unlimited access to the Black Library and training free of charge" he added with a forced smirk.
"And that is more than enough don't worry" Harry reassured him. Together they went down to breakfast were Harry knew he couldn't escape the pleasantries. As soon as he entered he thought of running back, as the bansh- Molly, saw him.
"Oh Happy Birthday Harry!" she exclaimed, startling everyone and proceeding to hug the life out of him. He didn't return it though, not that he could; she seemed to have forgotten the events of the past 3 days but that was more or less what could be expected from her. Eventually she let go and dragged him to a chair.
"Come, come, sit! You will have a hearty breakfast and then after lunch you are going to have a cake and then you will open presents from everyone. There will be more people coming of course as it wouldn't be a proper birthday without a party. Oh how quickly you all grow.." she finished wistfully and Harry got the chance to disentangle himself from her grip.
"Thank you, I appreciate it but please just don't do a party! I will open my presents and that's that." He tried to be as polite as possible about it and change her mind without a fight. It wasn't to be though.
"Nonsense, what else could you do on such a day?" she continued uninterested in his opinion. She tried to grab him again but he dodged it.
Harry was running out of patience, but he tried to be civil.
"Mrs Weasley, there will not be a party and if there is I won't be there. There are more important thing right now"
"What could me more important that your birthday dear?"
"Maybe that in two days I am going to my unjust trial?" he replied as deadpan as he could.
She actually huffed and then condescendingly spoke
"Oh there is no need for that, as I have told you Professor Dumbledore will fix things as he always does"
He could have hexed her right then and then. He could have muted her for the rest of the day. Instead he kept his calm, briskly walked away and sat down next to an annoyingly amused Sirius, or was it amusedly annoyed, he couldn't tell. It didn't escape him though that this whole interaction happened near where Ginny sat which creeped Harry out even more. He never gave any signs of wanting to sit with her, or away from Sirius. He really needed to rectify that situation. Shaking his head he spoke with finality in his voice.
"No party, cake and presents only."
She looked as angry as ever at being dismissed like that but she just huffed and went on to serve him just as well. Oh he knew there would be a party, not that he was going to see it. He would be at the library reading up as much about Law and Offensive Spells as he could, just like every other day.
Breakfast continued in normal fashion after everyone wished him a Happy Birthday. He spent his time until lunch exploring more of the house and avoiding the rooms the rest were still cleaning. He rolled his eyes every time he remembered that they were still being forced to do so. That is, everyone apart from Hermione, but he had no idea where she was, last he saw her she was speaking quietly with Sirius about something. There wasn't much of interest in the ground floor or the ones above. They were all decorated the same, with creepy wallpapers and candles. What was interesting was the basement, and specifically the training room. It consisted of an open circular space with various dummied on one side. There was also a dueling platform and an actual gym, with muggle equipment. Remus and Tonks must have helped setting it up as they were the only two with enough knowledge of the muggle world. What was more intriguing though was the small side room just outside the training area. It was dark and damp and it was used to store everything that was considered garbage in the house. It also reeked of Dark Magic and he was actually thankful they were keeping these there. This wasn't so interesting at first but he always got a tingling feeling in his scar whenever he walked past the room and the tingle would develop into a slight ache when he entered. He was very tempted to search the room but he knew that Sirius would kill him if he did that alone.
Eventually, he made it back to the kitchen where there were indeed more people as, apart from Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the twins and Molly, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley Arthur and surprisingly Bill Weasley made an appearance. After, once again, getting showered with birthday wishes by everyone and having lunch as usual, Molly came out carrying a big cake with his name as frosting and candles depicting his age;15. While he was growing tired of Molly's attitude and beliefs, he could admit that the woman knew how to cook and that was confirmed in half an hour where the whole cake was consumed. Now though, came the part everyone looked forward to;Presents.
From Ron and Ginny he got a huge selection of sweets which he knew he wouldn't eat alone and from the twins he got a fresh batch of new products that he was told could prove to be very useful; he would go through them thoroughly later. Tonks, Moody and Kingsley got him Auror guidebooks that contained strategies about different situations he could find himself in, otherwise he was told to stay vigilant, Remus got him a DADA book which he didn't know if it was used in school at any point, but seemed very helpful, while McGonagall got him a book on advanced Transfiguration and its uses in battle. She seemed solemn while she gave it to him, she must have understood that he would need all the help he could get. This seemed to be the general consensus as the majority of presents were related to getting better at using magic in a war. Even Bill got him a dragonhide wand holster and he explained that his wand it couldn't be summoned by anyone while there. On the other hand, Arthur thought of the short term battle with the Ministry as he got him an, admittedly basic, albeit good book on the structure of the Ministry. It wasn't up to par with any other book in the Black Library but the gesture was very much appreciated by Harry. Finally, Molly made him a sweater several months earlier than usual and Hagrid, of course, made him his (in)famous Rock-Cakes.
Only Hermione was left and when he turned to her she was squirming anxiously while biting her lip. After she glanced briefly at Sirius she took a deep breath and took something out of her pocket.
"I took the liberty of expanding your photo album. I asked Sirius if he had any photos of your parents, himself and Remus and as you can see he had plenty." She said quickly while giving him the batch of photos. She wasn't done though, as she reached into her other pocket.
"I also got in contact with Colin Creevey and asked him if he had any pictures of, erm, well us from school and I picked what I thought were the best ones" she gave him those photos as well. "If there are some you don't like I can talk to him and you can select any other you want." She finished quickly and stood stiffly, nervously waiting for his reaction.
Harry meanwhile, was lost staring at just one picture; He was a baby in his mother's arms while his father and Sirius were standing around them protectively and with proud smiles on their faces. Since this was a magical photo, he could see that his baby self was gurgling and smiling with them. It was enough to make him an emotional wreck thinking about what was lost, but he had to keep his calm. He set aside the old photos and briefly navigated through the more recent ones. They weren't as many, but each was as precious as the other. There were photos of him flying, of him Ron and Hermione studying or goofing around but the one he liked the most was the one where he was just with Hermione on the Grounds taking a walk last year. In all actuality almost every photo had Hermione in it which truly signified that she was always there. He wanted so very badly to find an excuse to keep his distance from her but she was making it very difficult. So he took control of his emotions and, surprising everyone, even himself, he stood up and hugged her. Now, he never showed any signs of affection to anyone, anywhere at any time, so for him to do just that and in a very public environment signifies how much this present means to him.
Hermione's tense posture relaxed after some fractions of a second into the hug. She knew to an outsider this gesture would seem like bribery considering the tense past few days, but she knows Harry and he knows her. They always had an understanding and stood on equal ground. And she was going to be damned if she didn't restore every bit of that and more.
With a whispered 'Thank you' and a grateful smile, Harry ended the embrace and sat back down next to Sirius. After a few moments were nobody said anything, and McGonagall, Hagrid and Remus were heard sniffling a bit, normality ensued. The only one who was not as happy was Ginny who was shooting death glares at Hermione, which didn't go unnoticed by the occupants.
As he sat down again, he felt Sirius' arm land on his shoulder and turned to regard him with mock seriousness.
"I was given the idea that you were just as angry as I was towards them, yet you help her?"
"I will admit that when she approached me about some idea she had for your present I had my reservations but after she explained ot, I couldn't possibly deny you the privilege of memories" He finished fondly, softly. "Plus while you may bicker, I see the way you look at her sometimes so I thought I would speed thing up" He had to ruin it of course with that comment and a wink. Harry would have groaned out loud but that would have meant Sirius would have won. Instead he just glared at him.
He didn't deny anything though.
They settled into a quiet few hours of smalltalk, his godfather's arm on his shoulders and the photos deep in his pockets. He didn't participate much but he couldn't say he had a bad time. Listening to Moody's rants, Tonks teasing Remus, Sirius teasing everyone and thinking about Hermione's gift planted the seed in his brain that maybe birthdays weren't so overrated after all. That night he went through the photos in detail and sorted them in his photobook. He felt like he was 11 again but he was proud, as he spent the rest of his time before sleep overtook him going through the book several, several times.
The next day, one day before the trial, Ted Tonks came through the floo. They led him to the Library where they discussed the possibility of him acting as Harry's Defense.
"It is more complicated than you think" he said "The reality is that no matter how they decide to promote it in the newspapers, it is technically a hearing not a trial. The fact that you will go in front of the Wizengamot means nothing to anyone. I can tell you what type of questions you should expect and how you should answer but other than that, unless you ask them, I don't think I can stand by your side." He finished apologetically. Sirius and Harry were disappointed by this fact but took him up on his offer of teaching Harry what he could. Eventually they decided that Ted would be in the public seating and if Harry was allowed a representative he would take his place.
After everything was said and done Harry contacted Arhur, who would be escorting him to the Ministry, and told him to pick him up two hours before the scheduled one. He had a funny feeling, call it paranoia, that the Ministry would stoop so low to bring him down, that they would change the hour of the trial at the last second. Better to be safe than sorry.
Maybe being called paranoid is a compliment, because he was spot on. The moment Arthur arrived was the moment he was notified that the trial was moved an hour earlier so he praised Harry for his decision. Now that Harry stood there, waiting outside the courtroom he thought that the Ministry really had no standards and if they had, they were very low. Imagine making a last minute change so that you can take down a 15 year old boy. He would show them that they didn't know what they were up against.
He must have waited for approximately fifteen minutes before he was admitted in. Straightening out his best formal robes, a nice piece that belonged to Sirius' brother, he entered with his head held high and his posture confident. He took notice that the Public Gallery was full and there were many journalists as well. The room was deathly quiet as he proceeded to the chair in front of the Wizengamot. He almost snorted at the looks of contempt he received from the Dark Faction on the far left but what got on his nerves was the smug look on the Minister who was in charge of the room. For reference, he noticed that the Neutrals in the middle were as impassive as they come, while the Light Faction on the far right were apologetic and even condescending. He ignored all of them though as he sat down. Immediately as one all Members stood up.
"Please everyone be seated!"Exclaimed the Minister. Clearing his throat he began.
"I call this disciplinary hearing, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister." He said pointing to one woman of fierce posture and tense jaw and a wickedly smiling toad like woman.
"Witness for the Defense; Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!" exclaimed the Headmaster as he swept into the room. Gasps were heard across the room but Harry's sigh of annoyance was not missed on several members of the Wizengamot. He stood up and addressed them before the Headmaster could proceed.
"I wasn't aware that I was allowed someone to stand in my defense and if I had I wouldn't have chosen the Headmaster. So my apologies for the disturbance on these proceedings but I would like to say that I don't want him to be my Witness for Defense!" he said loud and clear to the shock of every occupant in the room. The Light Faction looked scandalous and the Dark looked at him as if he was stupid. The Neutrals look at him curiously, interested to see where this might lead. It seemed though, that Fudge was almost as giddy as the Dark Faction as he spoke.
"Well Mr. Dumbledore it seems that you are not needed here, so if you please proceed to the Public Gallery if you wish to remain in this room"
The Headmaster, who was as shocked as everyone else looked pleadingly to Harry and with a tone of emergency, spoke "Harry please think about this you cannot hope to-" He was interrupted immediately by Harry.
"I am sorry Headmaster but as the Minister said you are not needed here." He sat back down and ignored the shocked and fuming man and waited for order to be restored before asking the next question.
"Speaking of Defense, am I indeed allowed to have someone represent me?" He asked respectably.
The Minister seemed to be mulling this over. While he had more chances of punishing the boy if he was alone he gained some respect for him after he dismissed Dumbledore like that. But there where many, many benefits in making the boy stand alone. His decision was not to be heard however as Amelia Bones took over much to his chagrin.
"Of course you can Mr. Potter, although I am surprised no one felt it was necessary to inform you about that." Here she shot a scathing look at the Minister who all but ignored it.
It seems that Ted was right, Harry mused. He was sure the Minster would have said no but Mrs. Bones intervened. Smiling inwardly at the obvious bias he spoke.
"Then I call Mr. Ted Tonks as Witness for the Defense."
The fact that said person just so happened to be on the Public Gallery was not missed by anyone, especially Dumbledore. There was still a collective shock that the supposed 'Dumbledore's Golden Boy' all but dismissed him and had already planned his defense on the sly. Even some of the Dark Faction could admit that this was a move worthy of a Slytherin. The Neutrals, where even more interested now and they gave some calculating look to Harry, while the Light was almost seething.
"Witness for the Defense Edward Tonks" the man finally said as he stood next to where Harry was seating.
The Minister, who now adorned a confused frown on his face, cleared his throat. "Very well, shall we proceed?"
"Harry James Potter, you stand accused of using the Patronus Charm outside of school and breaking The Statute Of Secrecy! How do you plead?"
"Guilty on the accusation that I used magic outside of school, not guilty on the accusation of breaking The Statute Of Secrecy" he replied in a neutral tone, maintaining his confident posture.
Murmurings broke out in the room but where immediately silenced by Fudge.
"Are you aware that it is illegal for wizards under 17 to use any kind of magic outside of school no less in the presence of muggles?" He asked quickly.
"Yes but-"
"And since you were aware of this you proceeded to produce the charm while knowing the consequences?" The giddy Minister interrupted as quick.
"Excuse me Minister, but wouldn't it be better for all of us if you just listened to what Mr. Potter has to say about the incident? I am sure that there are a lot of people here that are curious to know the circumstances that led to this moment." Ted interjected smoothly, but efficiently. Murmurs of agreement could be heard in the Wizengamot as well as the Public Gallery and Fudge scowled seeing as he couldn't avoid this.
"Very well. Please, Mr. Potter tell us what , you believe, happened."
Ignoring the mockery on his voice Harry proceeded to do as asked.
"I was sitting at the park near my place of residence and I was talking to my cousin and his friends, when all of a sudden the sunny weather turned grey and unnatural cold could be felt. Since I have previous experience with the Dementors from 2 years ago where they were stationed at Hogwarts, I warned my cousin and his friends to run. After I made sure there was no one else near I waited. When the two Dementors attacked, I acted on self defense and used the Patronus Charm to drive them away. So yes, I used magic outside of school but as a means to defend myself and as you can see there were no muggles around so the fact that this is one of the charges that was on the letter I received right after the incident is very odd to me." He finished as respectfully as he could but couldn't help the edging sarcasm that escaped him.
"Hem, hem. Excuse me if I misunderstood but it seemed to me that you are insinuating that the Ministry has something to do with this supposed Dementor attack in a muggle residence no less" the toad like woman said with mock innocence in her voice. Harry immediately knew that she was trouble.
"I believe he said that it was just odd that the letter was wrong, not that the Ministry had something to do with it" explained Ted. The irony of the situation was that right now, if they could prove everything they were telling, the Ministry would go on trial not Harry, and they knew it.
"Nevertheless the fact remains that since Mr. Potter cannot prove that his well thought out story has any standing I am afraid we have no choice but to find him guilty of all charges." Fudge said with glee evident in his voice.
That's exactly what Harry and Ted wanted to happen, because the next few moments could be crucial for the coming war.
"Excuse me Minister but seeing as it is Mr. Potter's words against yours, why don't we use Veritaserum to either confirm or deny his claim?" Absolute silence met the statement. Perfect. Very rarely would someone agree to have Veritaserum voluntarily used on him, and if it benefited him, the Ministry would look even less credible.
"As long as the accused agrees, in this case, we can definitely approve the use of Veritaserum." Amelia Bones piped up. Being the head off the DMLE no one could dispute her word, as she knows better than most what can and can't be allowed.
"I agree" Harry said and Amelia sent someone to get it. Fudge, his Undersecretary and most of the Dark Faction were seething is their seats, their face a puce colour. They were unable to do anything right now and if anyone dared contradict the proceedings then they would dig their own grave.
The auror sent by Madam Bones returned with the potion vial and after Harry was tested for an antidote, the auror administrated 3 drops of the potion into his mouth.
Right away Harry felt as if he was in a constant daze, his eyes were unfocussed and he was tense, and when Amelia proceeded to ask some basic questions to make sure the potion is working he felt compelled to tell the truth.
"What is your name?"
"Harry James Potter"
"When were you born"
"31st of July 1980."
"What Hogwarts house are you in?"
"Gryffindor."
"The potion seems to be working so we shall proceed with the questionin."
"What exactly happened on the afternoon of the 24th of July?"
And so, Harry told the exact same story as he did moments before much to the shock of the Public and the Minister who just remembered that this trial was broadcasted on WWN. The brat had outsmarted him so he would be damned if he let his get away with this unhinged.
"Well it seems that he was indeed telling the truth all along-" Madam Bones was interrupted by Fudge who basically barked his next question.
"What do you know of the mass murderer Sirius Black!"
Ted's eyes grew wide and he tried interrupting the proceeding, as did Dumbledore, but the potion was doing its job.
"He is my godfather who was wrongfully imprisoned."
There was a moment of silence before pandemonium broke out. Whatever answer they were expecting from the child of the supposed betrayed, it wasn't that. And no one could dispute that, since he was still on the potion. And this is where Madam Bones saw her chance. She never truly believed Sirius would betray the Potters and what she had on the case was so minimal it was like the man never had a trial. So much so, that she truly believed that such an atrocity was indeed true. So, while Fudge was standing there gaping like a fish, she took charge.
"What do you mean wrongfully imprisoned?" Just like that it went from one case to another. Both which could shake up the Ministry like never before since they would reveal where the corruption was most prominent.
The good thing about Veritaserum is that it forced the absolute truth out of the consumer, or more precisely what the consumer knew to be true, so Harry only said that he found out that Pettigrew was alive, that Sirius was set up by him and that he knew there was never a trial. He didn't go into details about what happened that night in the Shack, as that would raise many questions better left unanswered.
Once again, pandemonium ensued after Harry's explanation. Madam Bones who was trying to stay in control of her overwhelming emotions, ordered for the antidote and Harry, now with a clear head, basked in the chaos his revelations caused. He didn't mean to do anything about Sirius until much later, but he wouldn't say no to this opportunity.
A loud 'BANG' came from Amelia's wand and all action stopped. Fudge was still shell-shocked and had to be shaken by the closest Member to continue. Only after gulping and taking a deep breath he spoke.
"All those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?" As expected almost everyone lit up their wands, the only noticeable absences were those of the Undersecretary and some of the Dark Faction.
"Cleared of all charges" he said while banging his gavel. He tried to swiftly depart but Amelia was not to be deterred. Rising from her seat she addressed the Wizengamot as well as the public.
"Let me assure you that a full investigation will be conducted on the possible set up that was Mr. Potter's attack. Such blatant misinformation could not simply be an accident." She wasn't done though much to Fudges fear and annoyance.
"I now give the order to have the Kiss on Sight removed from Sirius Black and I implore him to come in peace to the Ministry so that justice can be done. Another investigation will be conducted on why there was no trial and those found responsible will be severely punished." She shot a glare at Dumbledore who was, even back then, Chief Warlock. Thank Merlin Barty Crouch was dead because she would have made him wish he was. She then gave a supporting nod to a grinning Harry and followed the rest of the members outside. She had a lot to do.
Fudge on the other hand, was not so happy. This was supposed to be the day he got rid of any credibility the 'Boy Who Lived' had and instead, his credibility is at stake plus his job should things worsen. His only saving grave was that, in the case of Sirius Black, it was the previous administration that was at fault. He could benefit from this, as long as he aided in the compensation of Black. Plus there was the fact that Dolores would go to Hogwarts to dismantle Dumbledore's work. Potter was out of his reach now. Him dismissing Dumbledore and going on to give valid evidence of corruption within the Ministry made him unapproachable. Lucius must not be happy right now…
Meanwhile Harry was almost skipping to the exit with an equally amused albeit shocked Ted Tonks, after ignoring a still shaken Dumbledore. He couldn't believe how easy it was. Oh he knew he was going to be cleared of all charges, but he didn't expect the trial to be of this magnitude. He has just made the public question the ongoings of the Ministry while at the same time granting Sirius his freedom. He was finally going to have a home.
AN: I assumed that hearings in the wizarding world are different than in the muggle since Harry was never told he could have someone defending him until Dumbledore 'miraculously' saved the day. I am as clueless about Law as the next person, so if anything in this chapter is too unrealistic I apologize, but at the end of the day it is called fiction for a reason.
