Trial and Error

Quatre wasn't impressed by the Wizarding judicial system. At first glance, it hadn't appeared too different from the Muggle version, but now that he sat at the bottom of a bowl, surrounded on all sides by tiered rows of seats and facing the Wizengamot, he realized the magnitude of the idiocy in front of him.

The biggest problem was that the Wizengamot functioned as both judge and jury, which was just absurd. Once elected to the Wizengamot, that individual held the position until death (unless a scandal forced the person to resign). Everyone knew who made up the Wizengamot; it was public knowledge. That made it possible to seek them out and manipulate them. Their likes and dislikes, their personalities were known. They were bribable. They could be manipulated.

Judges were susceptible to the same thing in the Muggle world, but at least the jury was harder to corrupt. No one knew who would serve as a member of the jury before hand, and their names were not published until after verdicts were made. The way the Wizengamot held trials was just ridiculous. Even worse, the stadium was filled with the Wizarding public, Ministry officials, and reporters.

This wouldn't be so bad. Being under scrutiny made the Wizengamot accountable for their decisions, but the crowd wasn't sitting quietly. They heckled those on display and made their feelings quite clear. It gave the ignorant masses the power to influence the court's rulings with their emotions and opinions.

Quatre felt a bit like a gladiator on the stage of a coliseum, but he made sure not to show anything except for serenity. He sat poised in the uncomfortable chair given to him with Lucius positioned next to him. Lucius was prepared and armed with the best strategies Quatre could bring to the table, and the wizard's cool blue eyes swept the room with regal command, as if he were confident this trial would be won. Quatre did his best to match him and conceal the dismay he felt at the medieval proceedings.

Carefully crafted legal references, notes, and arguments were stacked in neat piles on the table they'd been directed to. The table itself was placed a little to the side and across from the Wizengamot members, so Quatre had a very good view of the elderly witches and wizards that would determine the outcome of their case. He also had a good view of the accused.

Dumbledore stood at a podium positioned in the exact center of the stage. His long beard was braided while his hair was left to hang loose down to the middle of his back. His robes were yellow and white; his pointed hat was blue. Dumbledore practically radiated cheerfulness and benevolence. He stood smiling genially out at the crowd as if this was some grand entertainment put on just for him.

Quatre noticed how many of the Wizengamot gave respectful nods to the Headmaster – Dumbledore was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, after all – and Quatre was barely able to contain his shock that the wizards weren't even pretending to be unbiased! Quatre had assumed the Wizengamot would show a bit more professionalism, but he was quickly learning that such things out of the Wizarding world were uncommon.

A short, portly man stood up and cleared his throat. A combination of acoustics and magic carried the sound to every ear and gradually the din died down. "Ahem. Yes." The man smiled a politician's smile. "We are gathered here, presented with grievous charges against one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Head Mugwump and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. As Minister of Magic, I, Cornelius Fudge, will act as facilitator and will guide the proceedings. Will the one who brings such claims against an honored member of our society please stand and identify yourself?"

Quatre stood. He hadn't been directed to come forward, but he did so anyway. Trowa, sitting in the stands directly behind the table, sent him a flash of protective disapproval, which he ignored. His stride graceful and long, Quatre moved slightly in front of Dumbledore. He ignored the elderly wizard and made a slow turn, making eye contact with the spectators looking down at him. His circuit ended as he faced the Minister.

Holding the man's eyes, Quatre gave a sharp, shallow bow. "I am Quatre Rababa Winner, a French-Arabic wizard, and I name Albus Dumbledore as the one to orchestrate great harm against me and mine."

A dull roar went up in the stands. Quatre had planned a more refined introduction, but he had quickly adjusted his strategy as he felt out the bloodthirsty spectators. In their current mood, they would understand only what was put forth in the most simplistic terms.

Minster Fudge put up his hands to quell the rising tide of sound. "And who will act as your solicitor?"

Quatre turned and flung his arm dramatically back toward Lucius. "Lucius Malfoy, Lord of a Noble House."

The roar of the crowd doubled.

Quatre privately wondered how they were going to get anything done at this rate and also wondered why the spectators seemed so surprised. Surely most of them had recognized Lucius long before now. Quatre didn't bother to wait for the Minister to regain control of the room. He gave another shallow bow and returned to the table and the hard-backed chair. Quatre could feel Trowa relax as soon as he was seated.

"Present your case!" Minister Fudge bellowed and the crowd quickly settled down.

Lucius stood with fluid grace, chin raised just so. His long hair was clasped at the base of his neck and fell over his shoulder. He walked calmly forward, and unlike Quatre, did not spare the gawkers a glance. His attention was riveted only to the members of the Wizengamot staring down at them.

"On the night of the twenty-eighth of April, this year," Lucius spoke with crisp and sharp enunciation. "My client and his guard were attacked atop the Eiffel Tower in France by a team of vigilante wizards sent by Albus Dumbledore. They then suffered mental violation at the wands of the attackers, from which Mr. Winner's guard suffered severe and emotionally damaging side-effects. We are here to see that justice is done and reparation is made in the form of one million galleons."

Chaos exploded in the room as shocked exclamations were carried on shouts. Even a handful of the Wizengamot were on their feet, yelling and gesticulating wildly. The Minister grew red in the face as he demanded for Lucius to be serious. Quatre sighed and leaned back in his chair. With this sort of discipline and organization, the trial was going to take days instead of the handful of hours he had anticipated.

Dumbledore turned to Quatre and offered the young wizard an amused smile. Quatre humbly tipped his head in acknowledgement. Dumbledore had made it clear that pursuing a lawsuit would be unproductive and Quatre hadn't listened. However, that didn't mean it was unnecessary. Quatre wasn't about to abandon the mission. This trial, if won, could secure their independence from this manipulative wizard. Quatre wouldn't abandon the opportunity until he absolutely had to.

xXxXxXx

Remus blinked in surprise as Harry slammed A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration closed. He had never seen Harry indulge in any physical displays of temper, and he half-expected the red-faced teen to throw down his wand as well. Instead, Harry sat it down with precision next to the rejected book. The careful movement strangely made Remus wince more than throwing it would have.

"This… is… ridiculous," Harry huffed, each word ending on a soft whistle due to the tea spout he had in place of his nose.

"It's only been two days," Remus offered soothingly.

Hesitantly, he reached his hand forward to gently grasp Harry's chin. Harry's eyes glittered with fury, but he didn't pull away, and Remus quickly cast a strong Finite. The ceramic spout in the center of Harry's face melted away. Harry touched his face, and when he found his normal nose, scowled and rose to his feet to begin pacing restlessly around the small library.

Remus watched the slender youth with a pang of sadness. There was something wounded about Harry that he knew would break James and Lily's heart if they were there to see it. Despite his gracefulness and exceptional balance, the teenager was too short and thin for his age and Remus had heard Quatre mention that Harry had trouble keeping on weight. The only conclusion Remus could come to was that Harry had not received the right nutrition in early childhood. The thought had Remus swallowing down growls.

There were other signs that Harry had suffered extreme abuse. It was there in the way Harry flinched when unexpectedly touched and the almost desperate determination Harry displayed when studying. And it worried Remus greatly. Harry was only a few short weeks from turning fourteen. He was a child! He needed time to relax, to decompress and act like a kid, but Remus already knew there would be no convincing Harry of that. If Remus even tried, the boy would go off to practice alone.

"First years spend the whole of a semester on Switching Spells," Remus told him. "You mastered turning a match into a needle; you'll master this, too."

Harry slashed a hand through the air in rejection. "I'm halfway through Second year in all the other subjects! Why is Transfiguration so hard? Even the theory gives me trouble! It's so confusing!" His fingers tangled in his long braid restlessly as they unwound the rope. In moments, his hair fell free around his shoulders, a heavy curtain that hung halfway down his back.

Without thought or consideration, soft words rose from Remus' lisp. "You take after your mother." Remus held his breath, knowing what reaction he'd get for bringing up Harry's parents.

And, as he knew would happen, Harry stilled and too green eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.

Remus felt pained by the look. He hated that Harry felt like Remus was trying to trick or corrupt him with information about his birth parents. But he could be patient. Eventually Harry would learn that Remus didn't want anything from him. He didn't want Harry to leave his adopted family or say that he loved James and Lily more. He just thought Harry should know James and Lily, too. So he kept his voice soft and soothing.

"Your mother was incredibly gifted with Charms. Professor Flitwick took her on as a sort of protégé in her last year at Hogwarts. If it weren't for the war, she could have easily earned her Mastery in that subject. However, she struggled with Transfiguration just as you do. That's how she got to know James."

Harry looked away. The teen didn't resume pacing, but his shoulders were tense and his hands braided and unbraided his hair mechanically. Remus sighed to himself, expecting the subject to be repelled just as it had every other time James and Lily were mentioned, but then…

"James…" Harry voiced tentatively. "He was good at Transfiguration?"

Remus smiled, his eyes actually tearing up. "He was always top of the class in Transfiguration from First year to Seventh. He was able to master the Animagus Transfiguration, which is one of the most complex and advanced Transfiguration spells, when he was only fifteen years old. In our last year, Lily swallowed her pride and asked him to pair with her on their final project. James jumped at the chance. He'd been secretly in love with Lily for a long time. It was his dream come true, really."

Blinking, Remus came back to the present. He got to his feet and gently took up Harry's discarded wand. He carried it to the teen, who accepted it passively. "You'll get this, Harry. You just have to be patient with yourself. Maybe we should take a break. Sometimes it helps to come at things with a fresh mind and new perspective."

Harry shook his head and moved back to the table. "My family is out there right now, fighting this war for me. All they've asked of me is to be caught up to my peers by the end of this summer. I can't fail them."

Sighing, Remus followed the teen and retook his seat. He tried again to explain Switching Spells, searching for the words that Harry would understand. Harry listened attentively with no sign of his previous display of temper. Remus was almost tempted to believe it had been a figment of his imagination, but looking closely Remus could see the lines around Harry's mouth and brow that indicated stress. There was an electric air around Harry as if the teen could hear a countdown in his head and the clock was running out.

Taking a deep breath, Harry tried again to Transfigure a spout on the vase. A teapot lid appeared on top, enlarged so big that it nearly toppled the vase over.

"Well done!" Remus exclaimed.

Harry didn't respond to the praise. Anything less than perfect was unacceptable to the teen. Remus wondered which brother had taught Harry that.

"Try again. This time really visualize what you're aiming for as you cast the spell. Don't think about the purpose of the Transfiguration. Think exclusively of the structures you are merging. Transfiguration is all about physicality, unlike Charms where it is crucial to hold in your mind the result of the magic."

Harry gave a sharp nod, his eyes locked on his target. He tried again and the vase took on a floral pattern of a tea pot.

Remus ignored the way Harry's jaw tensed and calmly canceled the magic. "Better, Harry. Try again."

xXxXxXx

Lucius stalked up to Quatre who had been asked to stand in the center, a few feet from Dumbledore. "Describe the night in question for the Wizengamot, Mr. Winner."

Quatre nodded and started on the story that they had decided in the end would be best for their purposes. "I was visiting the Eifel Tower. I rented the viewing platform for an hour so that I may have privacy. I've always found that from such a height I have better perspective. My bodyguard and I had only been there five minutes before the crack of apparition sounded all around us."

A low murmur began to build in the crowd.

"Wizards appeared on the beams outside the platform. It was deep night and the wind was blowing with some force. It whipped the dark robes of the wizards around in a frenzy. My bodyguard reacted instantly to this threatening presence. Within minutes, however, we were overrun. He and I were rendered unconscious and our minds were brutally invaded."

Loud gasps sounded and abruptly all talking ceased. These were very serious accusations.

Quatre held his head high, portraying someone who had been hurt but was bravely confronting the memory. "When we regained consciousness, I had false memories planted in my mind that were extremely traumatic. It was disturbing enough that I went into shock and it took nearly a full day to be able to think rationally again. I recognize that the memories are false now, but the images still haunt my nightmares and I believe they will for some time to come."

The tension in the air shifted from suspicious of Quatre to shocked.

"The same mental invasion was attempted on my protector. However, the spell went wrong. He instead suffered from severe short-term memory loss for several days that prevented him from attending to his sworn place at my side."

As the grumbling started in the crowd, Minister Fudge banged a gavel that echoed loudly throughout the room. "Silence!" His beady eyes focused down on Lucius and Quatre. "I notice that Headmaster Dumbledore did not enter into your account, Mr. Winner. Do you recognize Headmaster Dumbledore as one of your attackers?"

Lucius strode out in front, drawing everyone's eye. "Before we get into the matter of who, I'd like to firmly put away questions about what took place. I have here photographed evidence of the scars left behind on the Eifel Tower. I also have records of the completed analysis by French Aurors of the magical signatures left behind at the scene. They are irrefutably British."

With a flick of his wand, the pictures were enlarged to a massive degree and set slowly rotating around the room so everyone would have the chance to examine each. The magical signature analysis was also displayed. Minister Fudge looked red in the face at this display, although it was the petitioner's right to show any and all evidence they managed to gather.

"Does this court agree that a battle took place on the night of April 28th on the Eifel Tower, perpetrated by ones of British origin?" Lucius called.

The Minister was forced to put the question to a vote. Very nearly unanimously, the Wizengamot around and above him voted in the affirmative.

Lucius canceled the spell displaying the photos and the analysis. This time he flung up Healer reports on the evidence of mental tampering in both Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton. He also put up a recorded interview with the top Mind Healer at St. Mungo's stating his opinion how detrimental such a severe mental attack would be to the lives of the victims.

The spectators and the Wizengamot murmured loudly as they observed all of this.

Minster Fudge had to bang his gravel several times before silence descended in the courtroom.

"Does this court agree that Mr. Winner and his personal guard suffered significantly due to mental attacks as a result of this battle?"

Again the Minister asked the Wizengamot to vote. Again he got a positive answer, although this time there was quite a few more dissenting votes.

Quatre expected that. Although they had allowed Lucius to hire a Healer to examine both Trowa and himself, it was much later. They did not know about the magical world until days after Harry was taken. So the Healer could only estimate when the damage had occurred. The Healer couldn't swear it was on the night of April 28th; he could only say it was very likely. That left room for doubt that the attackers on the Eifel Tower had done the damage. It was possible some other group had done the damage sometime after the initial attack in France. But apparently the Healer's estimation was good enough, for the court had just voted to accept both that Quatre and Trowa were attacked by British culprits and during that attack they were mentally damaged by their attackers.

Lucius gave a flashy bow and strode back to the table and Quatre. "Now that we are all agreed on what transpired, let us begin to unravel who was behind such a hideous crime." He pulled a second, more thorough analysis on the magical signature residue left on the Eifel Tower off the pile and returned to center stage. "This analysis was made by a reputable Unspeakable hired by my firm. He has made a positive match to three wizards and has two other signatures that are possible matches for another wizard and a witch. All five signatures belong to those in Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix!"

The courtroom exploded in sound and Quatre dropped his hands below the table so that he could clench them tightly together without being seen. Even with his strongest shields, he was nearly overwhelmed with denial and fear that only grew as the large crowd fed each other's hysteria.

Even with a Sonorous, Lucius had to yell to be heard over the din. "According to the Lordship Act of 1501, when a group acts at the behest of its magically bonded leader, the leader will be held accountable for that action even if he was not the one to physically perform that act!"

The crowd was too worked up to settle, even with the Minister demanding silence. Arguments had broken out in the stands, and emotions ran so high that Quatre's head began to pound. It was to his utter relief when the Minister declared they would start again in the morning.

Quatre stood, preparing to leave, when Dumbledore caught his eye. The elderly wizard was still standing at the podium. The genial smile hadn't left his face, but he wasn't looking at anyone in particular. Dumbledore had his head tilted back slightly, his gaze far away. Quatre couldn't help thinking the old man looked lost, as if he'd been displaced in a once familiar setting.

For the first time, a small flicker of doubt licked at his mind. Quatre shook his head firmly. All he had to do was remember this was the man who had arranged to have Harry kidnapped. This was the man who had locked his thirteen-year-old charge in a small room and tried to bend him to his purposes. The same man who had put an emotional attack within his Pensieve memories. Dumbledore may not be the enemy, but he did not deserve their allegiance. As they had been in the Gundam wars, Quatre and his brothers would stand independent. Whether Quatre won or not, the trial would make that clear.

Chapter end.