Double digits. I would like to full-heartedly apologize now for the disaster you're about to read. It's not necessarily bad… Most of it ended up being dialog and I took some liberties I probably shouldn't have, because I thought it was amusing and I allowed for too much self-indulgence. I did take out the worst of it. My grammar check had a nervous breakdown seeing all the passive verbs, but it's all dialog so…it does progress the story?

Warnings: This is shounen-ai, gay, slash, yaoi, whatever. Tom Riddle/Harry Potter. Sirius/Remus.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter, 10: The Trial

'Calm down," the shadow warned him. 'Let Dumbledore handle this.'

'He had Sirius locked in number twelve's basement so he couldn't save me,' Harry snapped. If he let Dumbledore handle everything, he wouldn't just be going to Azkaban, he'd be getting a Dementor's kiss.

'Trust me,' he said. Harry felt the pendant warming up. 'Should he fail, I will step in.'

Trusting the shadow was far easier than trusting Dumbledore. And despite not wanting to admit it, the shadow was right. Dumbledore would know exactly how to get this entire thing cleared up. The question was, would he? The shadow had shown Harry that he had not killed anyone for the necklace, but he'd still attacked them. Hurting someone was a completely different offense than killing someone and he hoped Dumbledore saw it that way too.

'Fine, but if I end up in Azkaban you're coming with me.'

The shadow gave a small laugh.

Harry felt his blood rush to his face. It seemed even if he was at trial trying to save himself from expulsion from Hogwarts and perhaps the Wizarding community as a whole, the shadow still took priority where his emotions were concerned.

"We sent word that the location and time of this hearing were changed," Fudge said.

Fudge must have lost his mind. The look of triumph in his eyes over his declaration of Harry being late made him uneasy. It was what, two minutes beyond the appointed time? A time Fudge had changed at the last minute, probably with the intention of making him late. There was no way two minutes meant automatic condemnation. With the glee the Minister must be feeling, Harry gave him kudos for not having sent the Aurors out to arrest him already. The other witches and wizards in the raised stands had probably talked Fudge out of it. At least they seemed to have some common sense. Whether that lasted until the end of the trial was another matter.

"We must have missed it," Dumbledore said, pleasantly. "I for one arrived three hours prior and was waiting in the hearing room as specified in the original letter. The one that has always been used for minor offenses?"

"This is hardly a minor defense," Fudge said in a tone befitting a snob assuring you, you didn't belong in the country club. Especially not this country club.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow.

"Use of underage magic for the reason of self-defense is no longer considered a minor offense? When was that changed?" He was no longer looking at Fudge, but the other witches and wizards sitting around him. "I've been gone but a few weeks, if such a law has been changed, the community as a whole should have been made aware." A few witches in the very back of the stands chuckled.

"Self-defense," Fudge snarled. "There was no self-defense! Harry Potter blatantly ignored the laws set forth by our community to ensure our existence from Muggles stays hidden!"

'Yeah, I had nothing else better to do, so I decided to use magic in front of Muggles.' His words earned him another laugh from the shadow.

The group behind Fudge began whispering amongst themselves again. Harry, in his attempt to distract himself, noticed Percy was sitting one chair away from Fudge, writing in extreme haste on a small desk that protruded over his seat. Even when he looked up from the parchment, his eyes showed no recognition of Harry. Harry wished he'd gotten to ask Ron more about what Percy and the rest of the Weasley family had fought about. What was he doing here, anyway? Did he come to work knowing his mother was dead or had no one told him?

"This trial will begin now," Fudge said coldly. "Weasley, make sure you're dictating!"

"I have been," Percy blurted.

"The date of this hearing is the twelfth of August. Reason for disciplinary hearing, misuse of magic under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, and the International Statute of Secrecy. The accused is Harry James Potter. Current residence, number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."

'Thought that was supposed to be kept secret,' Harry said. Even if Privet Drive was a safe location, walking out the door could now be a considerable risk thanks to Fudge. He didn't know most of the people in the stands, how could he trust them not to reveal the Dursleys' location? What would happen when he returned next summer? If the Dursleys found out their address had been announced at a hearing at the Ministry of Magic in front of what looked to be a group of thirty or so, they'd kill him before anyone else using the knowledge could.

'Well, we'll at least have a list of people to start with if someone does manage to break into the Muggle house,' the shadow said.

'Because that makes me feel better,' he said bitterly.

'No one is going to touch you with me around.'

Harry's cheeks began to burn.

"Present interrogators include Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley."

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore as a witness for the defense," Dumbledore said when Fudge didn't acknowledge the headmaster.

"We know who you are," Fudge said irritably.

"Merely for the record," Dumbledore answered.

'This doesn't sound like a formal hearing,' Harry said hoping to divert his thoughts.

'Fudge is too flustered,' the shadow said. 'He's only supposed to be speaking the facts, but he's allowing his personal feelings to seep into the case. The others have already noticed.'

Harry gave a quick look at the group sitting in the stacked rows. All but three were looking at Fudge as though he'd lost his mind. At the rate Fudge was digging himself into the ground, Harry didn't believe there was much to worry about anymore. He was going to win the trial because Fudge was going to be declared clinically insane and unable to rule a court hearing.

"Sit down," Fudge said, glaring at Harry.

Harry glanced at the chair with the living chains, his stomach dropping. Dumbledore gave the slightest hint of a nod. Mentally sighing, he walked over to the chair and sat in it. The chains gave one rattle before they rose into the air and then slammed into the floor. The ends connecting to the chair broke off with a loud SNAP. The chains jerked into the air and flew towards the bottom of the judge's podium. A witch screamed and Harry stumbled onto his feet away from the chair, his heart thumping. The chains remained at the foot of the judge's podium, no longer moving, but Harry moved closer to Dumbledore just in case they changed their mind and decided to come back to life.

"Did you actually think you could come in here and use magic," Fudge screamed. The group didn't even try to hide their talking now. "You realize you are here for that very reason!?"

"I didn't do it," Harry shouted back.

Dumbledore sighed. "Cornelius, I do not know what you are trying to do, but I do not see how a fifteen-year-old wizard could remove these chains, especially without using his wand, when full grown Death Eaters could not."

"Like you didn't use magic in a Muggle town," Fudge asked, ignoring Dumbledore. His entire expression one of mad delight. "You knowingly and intentionally used magic in front of a Muggle. Why the Ministry has sent out two other warnings to you for that exact reason!"

"Maybe if you did a better job of keeping the Wizarding community safe, I wouldn't have to," Harry yelled back. "I had no choice, but to—"

"Lies," Fudge roared. "You cast a corporeal Patronus knowing full well—"

"A full Patronus," one witch asked. "Not smoke, or wisps of silver, but an actual formed Patronus?"

"Yes," Harry said fast. He knew if he didn't answer quickly, Fudge would take back over. "My cousin, a Muggle, and I were attacked by Dementors and Gytrash! What else was I supposed to do!?" His anger flared, and he reminded himself not to lash out. It wouldn't do any good to get himself arrested while at his hearing, but these people had to understand. He hadn't used magic for fun, he'd used it to save his and Dudley's life. If they knew Dudley, they'd be giving him a reward for actually bothering to save him.

"You expect us to believe such a convenient story?!"

"Why else would I cast a Patronus," Harry demanded. Out of all the spells he could have used, and his uncle had been close to seeing him cast a killing curse that day, why a Patronus unless Dementors had been present?

"The Ministry has complete control over the Dementors! They have never left Azkaban!"

"They have before," Dumbledore said, quietly.

Fudge stood up so fast the papers in front of him scattered onto the floor. Percy lunged out of his seat and began picking them up. "WE ARE NOT HERE TO SPEAK OF YOUR DERANGED THEORIES ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO!"

"If the Ministry has complete control over the Dementors, then why is a Ministry official sending Dementors to Muggle towns," Dumbledore asked.

"THERE NEVER WAS A DEMENTOR IN LITTLE WHINGING!"

"We have a witness," Dumbledore said, his voice still calm. Harry wanted to know Dumbledore's secret of keeping his anger under control. "For the Dementors, for the Gytrash. Harry himself was scratched by one of the Gytrash in question." He motioned to Harry as he spoke. "There is still a rather large mark on his arm."

"A Gytrash scratch?" The witch named Amelia Bones stood up and walked towards Harry. She grabbed his arm with the scratch mark on it. The mark had healed in the sense it wasn't going to bleed, but the long red scratch was still evident. The witch positioned her finger at the top of the scratch and ran it down his arm to the bottom of the mark. She gave a low whistle.

"Is it a Gytrash scratch Amelia," a witch with a pipe asked.

"Yeah," she said, her voice grave. "An adult," She released Harry's arm and locked eyes with him. "How many?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "At least three. It was hard to see them. I got a good look at the one that scratched me as it ran off when I used Lumos, but there were two more waiting for it. There was a lot of howling though, so there might have been more than that."

Her eyes hardened, and she looked at Fudge. "We've had to send people near Little Whinging to capture a pack of Gytrash around that date. The Muggles in charge of capturing animals were called in. We still have four of them in St. Mungo's being treated for bites. You're lucky you were only scratched."

"I'm just glad the healing ointment worked," Harry explained. "It felt like someone had shoved hot metal into my arm."

Amelia nodded and walked back towards her seat.

Harry felt immense pleasure at the look on Fudge's face. He seemed to have aged a few years.

"There were seven of them, weren't there," a wizard in the back asked. "Quite a large pack, especially for one that made it into a Muggle town." A group of nods.

"Strange since they don't care for light," another witch muttered. "The last case of Gytrash in a Muggle town had three?"

"Yes, in Waltham Abbey," a short wizard to the left said.

"Enough!" Fudge shouted. "We are here about his misuse of magic, not the sudden invasion of Gytrash!"

"The Gytrash might have been following the Dementors," the witch with the pipe said. "Wouldn't be the first time a pack of Gytrash was attracted to the darkness the Dementors cause."

"Even if Dementors sometimes attract Gytrash, the Dementors are under our control and are at Azkaban," Fudge growled.

"We did bring a witness with," Dumbledore reminded them. The group all turned to Dumbledore. They looked surprised to see him still there.

"Muggles can't see Dementors!"

"No, they cannot, but Squibs can," Dumbledore said. "And she was also present when the Gytrash attacked."

"She's the one who told me to use Lumos to drive the Gytrash back," Harry explained. He owed Mrs. Figg a great deal for that. He would need to buy her a gift basket when they went to Diagon. Maybe one full of cat food.

"Shall I go retrieve the witness? She's waiting right outside the door," Dumbledore said.

"No," Fudge growled. "Weasley!" Percy jumped, his knees hitting the bottom of his desk and he let out a small yelp. Now his papers flew up and onto the floor. Harry heard Percy curse and the all too familiar sound of an ink bottle falling over. "WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH YOUR CLUMSINESS! GO GET THE WITNESS!"

"Yes sir," Percy said, his voice shaking. He bent down and began collecting the papers.

"NOW!"

Percy once again jumped. "O, of course, sir. Sorry, sir." He gave the scattered papers a quick look of longing before running to the doors. He made sure to walk past Dumbledore instead of Harry. He opened one door, let out another noise of surprise, and backed away.

Harry felt somewhat bad for Percy. Fudge was treating him like a slave, not a court scribe.

Mrs. Figg walked into the room hesitantly. Her fingers white from gripping her handbag and she kept looking from one side of the room to next. Harry could see the dread caused by the room hitting her. He couldn't blame her. This place was designed to bring forth fear. Despite that dread, she walked towards the stands, only stopping when she stood next to Dumbledore.

Percy closed the door and did a strange half-run, half-walk movement back to his seat.

'What did you do?'

'I did nothing. He saw Remus.'

Dumbledore looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye. Harry gave the smallest headshake he could manage.

"Name," Fudge demanded.

"Arabella Doreen Figg," she said, her eyes darting from one side of the room to the other.

Harry hoped Mrs. Figg could do this. She already looked like she wanted to cry.

"Well, go ahead! Tell us your story," Fudge said, clearly annoyed.

"Well, I, I had just come back from shopping and— "

"About the Dementors. not your life story," Fudge yelled.

Mrs. Figg flinched.

"They were in the alleyway! Two of them! One by Harry, one by that useless child," she managed. Her fingers began boring holes into her bag. "The one by Harry almost had him. R, right before it kissed him, he cast a Patronus! It hit the Dementor next to him. Then he sent it after the one trying to get his cousin," she sniffed.

"Can Squibs see Dementors," a witch asked.

'Can they,' Harry asked. What was the point of having Mrs. Figg present if she hadn't been able to see anything?

'Oh, she knows what they look like, now,' the shadow answered sounding both smug and amused.

"I, it's hard to explain…" she started.

"BECAUSE YOU SAW NOTHING," Fudge screamed.

"No," Mrs. Figg yelled back. "I did! It's just the cloak! It was tattered, but it covered up its whole body! The only thing I could see were its hands! They looked like the hands of a skeleton, claw-like even! It had Harry by the neck," she half-yelled, half-sobbed. "And the dread it caused… I've never felt such overwhelming despair." She wiped a few tears away.

"The fat child was even more useless after that. Harry had to practically carry him! It took forever to get back. And then the lights went out again," she explained, energy and confidence pouring into her words. "Gytrash! As if the Dementors weren't enough! They circled us." She motioned to Harry. "This fool didn't know how to get rid of them! At his age! I had to tell him to use Lumos!" She shook her head. "One of them slipped by, though. I was terrified it had bitten him. I told him, if your arm turns blue, you have to let someone know immediately!"

"You expect us to believe any of this," Fudge asked.

"I'm not the only one who saw the Gytrash," Mrs. Figg said. "The other Muggles in my neighborhood thought they were wolves."

"How many were there," Amelia asked.

"Three," Mrs. Figg said, full of confidence. "That I saw anyway."

"This is ridiculous," Fudge said, his voice even for the first time since the trial started. "We're to believe the word of a Squib?"

More than a few gasps erupted from around the Minister.

"Cornelius," a wizard said, sounding disgusted.

"Alright, alright," The minister said waving his hands. "It wasn't meant to sound like that, but she's a Squib! If she could see a Dementor, why can't Muggles?"

There was a rush of murmurs across the stands.

'Because I showed her one,' the shadow said, his amusement clear. 'In fact, she saw the entire memory from a different point of view,'

'You didn't…'

'I did.'

Harry didn't know if he should smile or not. Seeing a Dementor for the first time had probably given Mrs. Figg nightmares. Still, it had made her testimony more convincing.

'How?'

'I may have accidentally shown her my memory,' he said.

Suddenly seeing the shadow's point of view of the entire event couldn't have been easy on her. She probably thought she was going mad. Something the shadow was far too skilled at doing to people. 'You're horrible.'

'I told you I'd do whatever it took to keep you safe. I can wipe the memory from her mind if you'd like once this is over.'

'… You can erase memories?' A shiver ran through Harry. He knew you could extract them, put them in bottles to be viewed later by others, but completely erase them? Had he asked whoever had sent the necklace to remove his memory of attacking the student?

A witch that hadn't spoken yet leaned towards Fudge. The Minister nodded.

"Dolores Jane Umbridge would like to speak," Fudge said.

A very short witch with curly brown hair held up by a rather large bow came forward.

'She looks like a toad,' Harry said.

Laughter echoed in Harry's mind.

No matter how you looked at the woman, she was a toad. The lower part of her face was wider than the upper half and flatter. Her skull didn't seem able to hold all of her eyes and they kept shifting like a toad's eyes would when it was searching for food.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong," she started.

'That voice,' the shadow said, laughing harder. 'She sounds like she's ten.'

The shadow's statement was spot on and yet Harry couldn't get himself to join in with his laughter. There was something oddly…. almost evil about the woman. She might sound innocent enough, but something in her eyes said she wasn't someone you took lightly.

"But Dumbledore, you make it sound as if you expect the Wizengamot to drop all charges over a lie." She let out a very short, high-pitched laugh. "We all know there were no Dementors in Little Whinging and while there may have been Gytrash in the area," she said tossing a quick glare at Amelia. "As Minister Fudge has stated numerous times already, the Ministry has and always will, have complete control over each and every Dementor. So while Mister Potter may be cleared of charges for using Lumos, why does it sound like your only grounds of defense for casting a Patronus lie within blaming the Ministry?"

Dumbledore smiled and bowed his head.

"My dear Madam Umbridge. I am merely following the facts as they are known to me and everyone else within this courtroom. And forgive me for pointing out a flaw in your reasoning, but the Ministry of Magic has not always had complete control over the Dementors."

This time Umbridge gave off a loud squawk of a laugh. Harry and many others in the room winced. There was no way this woman had any friends if this was her genuine laugh and voice.

"You-know-who has not been resurrected," Fudge screamed.

"If you refuse to acknowledge that may be the case," Dumbledore pressed on. "Then we must consider the alternative. That someone within the Ministry ordered those Dementors to attack Harry.—"

"LI—"

"Please Cornelius, let me finish," Dumbledore said, his voice somehow remaining even. "Whether or not Voldemort," everyone in the stands flinched, "is back in power is not the issue here. Many of his followers are still alive and would like nothing more than to see Harry dead. It is why everyone, the Ministry included, has taken such great lengths to ensure his safety, yes?" The room went silent. "So, for a moment, let us pretend we are not having this disagreement about Voldemort." Another round of flinches. "If this is simply a matter of someone who wishes Harry harm and having found his residence, which is difficult, but possible, and they have the resources to have Dementors sent there, what then?"

"This is preposterous," Umbridge said, shaking. "No Ministry worker would ever order a pair of Dementors to attack anyone!"

"Need I remind the Wizengamot that it was in this very courtroom that people with those sorts of resources were tried and found guilty?" He began rummaging through his robe pocket and produced a large vanilla envelope that he placed on Fudge's judge's stand.

"What is this," Fudge demanded.

"Well, you see, I happen to associate with Muggle-borns and they suggested some very wonderful evidence." Dumbledore's eyes began to dance. "These are reports from UK Power pertaining to Little Whinging. The other is a report from the meteorological center nearby, the last—"

"What can these Muggle," Fudge didn't seem to know what to call these institutions. "What can they possibly prove?!"

"I was surprised at the evidence the Muggle's had myself," Dumbledore said. "If you look at the first packet, the one from UK Power, a company that provides electricity for Surrey county. If you read the parts that are highlighted, you will see that in fact on the time and date in question of the Dementor attack, and Harry's supposed misuse of magic, the company had an unexplainable power outage through half of Little Whinging."

"Wh, what?"

"And," Dumbledore said, his cheer growing. "If you would be so kind as to take a look at the second packet. This one is from what Muggles call a meteorological center. This company tracks temperatures and weather. If you take a look at their picture about three pages in, it will show that the same area of Little Whinging that lost power, also experienced a rather large temperature drop, which also happens to be where Harry was at the time of the Dementor attack and his misuse of magic."

"Th, this is nonsense!" Fudge screamed, his face turning a nasty shade of burgundy. "We can't use Muggle, whatever these are, as proof of anything!"

The rest of the Wizengamot, excluding Percy and Umbridge, seemed to think otherwise. Amelia had grabbed the packets and started looking through them before she passed them to other members.

"The maps mark the same area, date, and time, as having abnormal behavior. The weather one is quite interesting. It shows an eighth of a kilometer radius having a 5-degree Celsius difference from everywhere else in Little Whinging," Amelia said.

"It says here it lasted about six minutes," the wizard behind Amelia pointed out.

"The power went out at the same time the weather changed, but it shows a second power outage ten minutes later," the witch with the pipe added excitedly. "That one lasted it says… fifteen minutes!"

"And look," another wizard said, almost jumping from his bench seat. "The second outage moved down from the first one!"

"WE CANNOT—"

"This last page is a map of a neighborhood. This is the neighborhood Harry Potter lives in," another witch asked Dumbledore. She was holding up the paper in question.

"It is," Dumbledore said, brightly.

"And the alleyway here is marked," she said, bringing one hand to her chin. "The power outage moves from the direction of the alley to Privet drive."

"Yes," Dumbledore said.

"ALL OF THIS IS FAKE," Fudge screamed, getting to his feet. "HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF THESE PLACES?!"

"No," Amelia Bones said evenly. "But being as they are part of the Muggle government in that area, it shouldn't be too hard to find out if they exist."

"I do NOT want this hearing lasting all day!"

"If you doubt my claims, by all means," Dumbledore said. "But if you would, Mrs. Figg."

"Y, yes." The Squib started going through her handbag.

"NOW WHAT?!"

Mrs. Figg handed Dumbledore a letter. The headmaster took it and handed it to Fudge.

"This is an electric bill from British Gas, sent to Mrs. Figg, requesting payment for her use of electricity at her house, which is not far from Harry's own. If you look further down, it states that her electricity comes from UK Power."

Amelia Bones didn't wait for Fudge. She snatched the letter in question from the judge's podium, her eyes scanning everything. When she finished, she passed it to the witch besides her.

Fudge looked like someone had hit him with a Full body-binding curse. He kept staring ahead at the double doors, his mouth hanging open just enough to notice, while his fingernails dug into the judge's podium.

'I never thought about the electric company,' Harry said. And the weather center? He didn't know who gave Dumbledore the tip, but he owed them as well. Who would have thought basic Muggle institutions that so many took for granted could win him an innocent verdict from a magical court.

The Wizengamot was now holding a full-blown conference. Even Umbridge paled, her eyes bulging more than usual when she looked at the papers. He was going to win this.

'It seems they are convinced,' the shadow said.

Harry nodded.

"There is no proof," Fudge said again, his voice quiet. "These papers are fake! Part of their elaborate story to make the Ministry of Magic look like fools! I will not have it!"

"Then we call for a recess," Amelia Bones said. "We will have these locations verified and then we can decide."

"THERE'S NO TIME! WE WOULD BE WASTING AN ENTIRE DAY OVER SOME LIES!"

"I do believe the defense is entitled to that time. As the alternative would be possibly declaring an innocent wizard guilty," Dumbledore said.

"Agreed," Amelia said, the others in the stand nodding, most of them also voicing their agreement.

Fudge screamed and turned on the Wizengamot.

"FINE! GO! SEE THAT THIS IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME! I'LL HAVE ALL YOUR JOBS FOR THIS! WEASLEY!" Fudge stormed down the steps from the judge's box. Percy swept up all the papers off his and Fudge's papers before rushing after him.

"I believe we are free to wait in the hall," Dumbledore asked.

"Do not leave the building," Amelia warned. She was grinning at Dumbledore.

"I wouldn't dream of it Madam Bones." Dumbledore motioned for Harry and Mrs. Figg to follow him outside of the courtroom. Harry spotted Lupin leaning against the wall, his eyes on the ceiling. He seemed to be daydreaming.

"Is everything alright Remus?"

Lupin turned his gaze on the three. "That depends. I saw Fudge storm out of there and Percy trying to run a marathon to keep up. Was Harry cleared?"

"Recess," Harry said.

"Why," Lupin asked, surprised.

"Those papers you gathered from the Muggles turned out to be rather convincing," Dumbledore said. "I am positive Harry will be cleared of all charges once it has been proven these places not only exist but do what the papers claim they do."

"You suggested the papers," Harry asked. Lupin was fast becoming one of his favorite people. In fact, he was right next to Sirius.

"I've been talking to everyone on ways we could clear your name and Hemione suggested we try to find physical proof that the Dementors had been there," Lupin explained. "I realized the power company in charge of Little Whinging would have to have reports of unexplainable power outages during the attack. On a whim, I called around to see if any weather stations had recorded any strange weather in Little Whinging the day of the attack."

Harry threw his arms around Lupin, unable to explain how grateful he was. He was so happy to have the people he did on his side. Sheepishly, Lupin returned the hug. "Thank you Lupin."

"Wait until you're cleared to thank me."

"Not just this, eh, mostly this, but you've helped me so many times in the last few years." Lupin may not have always been in his life, but without him, Harry wouldn't be alive now. He had taught Harry the Patronus charm, had given him glimpses into his father's life at school. Lupin had saved him from the Dursleys' that summer, had kept his godfather from going insane and now he was saving Harry from a corrupt Fudge. No wonder Sirius loved him so much. Lupin was amazing.

They separated from the hug, Lupin looking far more embarrassed than he should.

"I would like to thank you for keeping certain things under control," Dumbledore said, his voice quiet.

'I'm not a thing,' the shadow said, anger in his voice. 'And you did not control me, Dumbledore simply did his job for once and I didn't have to step in.'

"He umm… said you just did your job for once," Harry said. 'You realize Lupin and him just saved me, right?'

'I like Remus,' the shadow said.

Dumbledore was laughing despite what Harry had just said to him.

Harry had a novel-length amount of questions for the headmaster now that they were alone, but he didn't know where to start. Dumbledore was in a pleasant mood compared to when Harry had seen him at number twelve. He was acting like the headmaster Harry had always known and couldn't believe Dumbledore had gone as far as to lock Sirius up in the basement or had stopped him from being able to receive any mail.

"Why did you put an anti-mail charm on my house," he asked. "Knowing full well a Gytrash had just attacked me." A spark of anger struck in him, but that was it. He realized he was mad, yes, but he was more sad than angry. "I could have died…"

"No Harry, you would not have," Dumbledore said. "I know you believe you were alone and abandoned," his smile grew when Harry's stared at him in surprise, "but I assure you, you merely had the illusion of privacy." He sighed then as he went on. "The anti-mail charm was to avoid you getting your hands on a certain item."

"But…." If Harry hadn't had the necklace, he'd have gone mad.

"I am sure you are all too aware of the pain you've been in these last few days?"

"Yes," Harry muttered.

"I was trying to avoid having you go through that," he explained. "I, however, failed in that matter. I hope you can forgive me." He gave a slight bow of his head.

'You would have been enduring a far worse pain if you hadn't gotten the necklace,' the shadow snorted.

"What am I being accused of this time," Dumbledore asked. Harry didn't understand why Dumbledore found all of this so amusing. The shadow was dangerous, that much they all knew. Why was Dumbledore not worried about the shadow's distaste for him? It was almost like the headmaster was enjoying himself.

The elevator door at the end of the hall opened. Amelia Bones strode towards them, grinning. "So there were some…issues upstairs," she said, stopping in front of Dumbledore. "I'll take care of the paperwork, but Harry is free to go. The Muggle's department confirmed these locations and we have dropped all the charges."

"Thank you Madam Bones," Dumbledore said.

"I will be looking into that Dementor attack," she said. "I can't have Dementors, regardless if someone ordered it or not, going after innocent people."

"You have my utmost gratitude."

"I'm merely doing my job." She lowered her voice. "A lot more than what Fudge was doing in there." Her eyes flickered to Lupin and Harry then back to Dumbledore. "I need to speak with you alone Albus."

"Of course. Remus, Harry, I believe you were both instructed to bring home victory burgers…?"

"Yes," Lupin said, giving Harry a slight push. "Thank you so much, Dumbledore. Madam Bones." He turned to Harry. "Come on." They did a fast walk to the elevator and stepped in. "I was sure they were going to declare you innocent, but hearing it said," he let out a breath and grinned.

"Yeah, no kidding," Harry agreed.

"You aren't happy about being cleared?" He was staring at Harry now.

"No, I'm ecstatic they saw through the lies. I just wanted to ask Dumbledore about some more things." He hadn't felt this happy in a long time. He would be able to return to Hogwarts, his wand wasn't going to be confiscated, and he knew for sure that he had people who cared about him, even if they didn't act like it all the time. But that didn't change the fact that Dumbledore seemed to be hiding something. Harry needed answers.

"You'll see him again when your term starts," Lupin said. The elevator shuddered and stopped.

"Main floor," the voice in the elevator said.

(TBC)