Harry felt a headache coming on. He was sitting at the centre of the couch, Mr. Weasley, professor Dumbledore and Snape saying things back and forth to him.

"They will ask you about your captivity, just ignore these questions Harry." Mr. Weasley said.

"But don't be rude or show anger." Dumbledore said.

"Forget that Potter, just ignore them and walk past." Snape said.

"The reporters will be persistent, but keep your calm." Dumbledore said.

"And don't take anything they say to heart." Mr. Weasley said.

"Once you get past those vultures you will have to deal with the Wizengamot ministers. Including Umbridge." Snape said.

"It would be better if you avoid looking at her my boy." Dumbledore said.

"But do not look down, or they may call you untrustworthy." Snape argued.

"Keep looking at the Minister, but don't maintain eye contact all the time. Look at some of the other officials." Mr. Weasley said.

Harry was very lost and was starting to get very anxious. Mrs. Weasley came over and pulled him away from the three men. "Don't listen to them Harry, you just relax and tell the truth." Mrs. Weasley said as she patted his shoulders and straightened his robes. "My so handsome." She smiled and Harry managed a faint smile before they were interrupted again.

"But not all the truth my boy." Dumbledore said.

"Don't mention that you were in the Dark Lord's mind." Snape said.

"And don't mention that you knew of young Malfoy's mission from a dream." Mr. Weasley said.

"And avoid falling into any trap Umbridge might spring on you." Severus said.

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Harry. "Also,"

"Ok! Just stop it!" Harry yelled quieting them all as he ran out of the house, leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths as he tried to even his breathing.

Oh god this was so serious… if he messed up he could actually ruin Malfoy's life. Lucius Malfoy was not someone he was going to miss if anything happened to him but the son and mother, it was weird. Maybe it was just because he appreciated the way the other seemed to change. It may have been fake out of his desperation but there was no way of Harry knowing for sure.

He took off the little amulet around his neck and sighed, the nature magic soothing him now that the sun was out. Snape came out and patted his shoulder.

"Just know… you do not have to do this." He said.

"I know… but still… I want to help." Harry said looking up at him. Snape still looked annoyed at his insistence to help the Malfoys but didn't try to change his mind.

"Very well. Let us go." He said, guiding Harry back inside.

oOoOoOo

Harry shifted uncomfortable as he entered the hall once more, all the judges looking down at him. He glanced at the blondes. Narcissa Malfoy holding her head up and nodding as he entered. Lucius Malfoy not looking at him, also keeping his head high. Draco Malfoy saw him walk in and narrowed his eyes at him.

Well, that was unexpected.

The blonde looked away, taking his father's stance of not looking at Harry. Harry felt irritation boiling inside him but pushed it back. He felt more comfortable than the last time he was here. Sure, this time it wasn't him being judged but that wasn't why.

Severus had gotten him some formal robes that fit nicely and to be honest, Harry managed to take a chance to admire his reflection this morning, feeling handsome for the briefest of moments before he had to block out the words drilled into him as a child by his aunt and uncle exclaiming the contrary. Still, he felt much more comfortable than he did when he wore borrowed clothes last time.

Speaking of his guardian… no, speaking of his father, he looked up, seeing the Slytherin head sitting beside Draco. Dumbledore choosing to sit across the room beside Mr. Weasley.

"Let us call this meeting to order. For the case of the Malfoy family. Harry James Potter comes to speak for the Malfoys. Is that right mister Potter?" Fudge, still as the chief Wizard in the Wizengamot, spoke, his tone politically friendly which Harry saw great contrast in compared to the tone the Minister used for him all the times his office called Harry an attention seeking liar.

His hand twitched as he looked at Umbridge who still had that self-satisfied grin mingled with sweetness.

"Yes Minister." Harry said softly.

"Now, as you know, this case is a tad more serious than the last time you were here, would you agree to taking a dose of veritaserum?" Fudge asked. Harry hesitated, no one had mentioned veritaserum before. He looked up at Severus who had a glare filled with suspicion directed at the Minister.

"If you are to speak for someone in this trial, mister Potter, perhaps you ought to make this decision for yourself?" Umbridge spoke drawing Harry's attention back to the rest of the Wizengamot. The austere expressions from most of them made his throat feel dry.

"It is not mister Potter on trial Cornelius, there is no need for-" Dumbledore began.

"Oh, but, forgive me to interrupt Headmaster, but there is a need. Can mister Potter really be trusted after all?" Umbridge spoke. Harry tensed as he looked up at the dreaded woman, rage starting to bubble inside him. "We all saw mister Potter run into he-who-must-not-be-named's arms, one of his classmates was mentioned to be quite distressed after seeing the scar left by the dark mark in Harry Potter's very arm and there are even rumours of him using dark magic. Can such a wizard be trusted?" She argued. Whispers erupted in the hall.

"Dark magic?"

"The boy?"

"Truly?" Members of the Wizengamot and spectators looked at him concerned and Harry took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart.

"I'm here to speak for the Malfoy family, I will take the Veritaserum." Harry said, unable to believe the injustice that this beast of a woman had still been left with so much power after what she'd done to him this year.

"I will not allow it." He heard Snape say.

"And who are you to-"

"Veritaserum cannot be given to minors without parental consent. And I refuse." Snape said.

"I'm aware of your recent adoption of mister Potter, professor Snape. However, we do need to take a statement through Veritaserum only." Amelia Bones said and Harry sighed, he squirmed uncomfortable and looked up at Snape, nodding. Severus looked indecisive but decided to respect Harry's decision and finally nodded.

The potion was sharp going down and the effect was instant. Harry tensed knowing that he would not be able to lie at all. The questioning officially begun.

"Now, what is your name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"And how old are you?"

"Fifteen years… eleven months and three weeks old." He said.

"Now then, describe your relationship with Draco Malfoy at this moment in time." Fudge asked, seemingly reading from a list of questions he had before him.

"I don't understand it myself." Harry said honestly.

"Are you friends?" Fudge asked.

"…I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Fudge asked, a short laugh making Harry nervous.

"We were not friends up until the early months of this year." Harry mumbled.

"I have here a report from your teachers that you in fact engaged in a physical fist confrontation with the young mister Malfoy in the busy corridors of Hogwarts just prior to the Christmas holidays. Is this correct?"

Harry squirmed inside but tried not to show it. "Yes. It's true."

"Why did you engage in such a primal and uncivilised display of anger?"

"…He pointed out that it was because of me that my parents were killed." Harry said. Whispers erupted around and Harry bit his bottom lip. This wasn't helping Malfoy at all. "But this was before he changed." Harry insisted.

"You mean, before he was ordered to befriend you? By the Dark Lord himself?" Fudge asked.

"Yes. Voldemort lived in his home, with his parents, he did what I would have done. He did what he could to keep his family safe." Harry admitted. "The ministry did not believe that he was back, who could they have gone to for help?" He asked coldly, keeping eye contact with Fudge, holding his head high as best he could while being at a lower level than the entire Wizengamot.

Fudge and several of the ministry members shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"But back then you thought of him as changing, as a friend."

"…" Harry could feel the truth bubbling in his throat but he didn't want to say it, tensing up.

"There's no use fighting it mister Potter, say the truth." Umbridge spoke and Harry curled his left hand into a fist.

"I did not think of him as changing… nor as a friend… but… I liked hanging out with him when he wasn't being his usual prat of a self." Harry said.

"And why was that?" Amelia Bones asked.

"…I… admired his strength… to be willing to change from one day to the other, suddenly, knowing I wouldn't believe it but trying all the same for the sake of his family."

"Did you know back then that he was following the Dark Lord's orders?" Fudge asked.

"…Yes." Harry said softly.

"How did you know this?"

"…" He looked up at Severus who gave the minimal shake of the head, noticed only by him but Harry couldn't help it, the words were already coming out. "I saw the Dark Lord give the orders…" Harry said.

There was an uproar, wizards asking each other questions, pushing the Minister to say ask something else.

"How is it possible that you saw the Dark Lord give the orders?"

"...I… had a connection to him… when I dreamed… I sometimes saw the world… through his eyes." He whispered. Damnit! He couldn't fight the potion. "I chose to befriend Draco Malfoy despite knowing this because to me he was doing it for the right reasons." He argued, trying to redirect the conversation back to the Malfoys.

It seemed that Fudge was in too much shock to ask more questions so Amelia Bones once more took over.

"Was Draco Malfoy loyal to the Dark Lord?" She asked.

"I don't think so. Draco Malfoy seemed just focused on helping his family." He said.

"Was Lucius Malfoy loyal to the Dark Lord?" She asked. Harry didn't know but truthfully…

"I don't think so. In the Department of Mysteries he didn't attack anyone, he was just following orders." Harry said. "…When I was in the mansion he followed orders but no more than that."

"What orders did Lucius Malfoy have while you were in Malfoy manor at the mercy of the Dark Lord?"

Harry looked down at the complex star symbol engraved in gold on the hearing room's floor. "To teach me all about potions and… to perform the imperius curse."

"Did you perform the unforgivables?" Umbridge hissed.

"No. I didn't have enough will power to cast them properly." Harry mumbled.

"What else were you taught there?" Umbridge rushed to ask before Amelia Bones could ask another question.

"…Blood magic… attack spells, curses, knife and candle magic…" He mumbled.

"Dark magic then." Umbridge stated and since it was not a question, Harry didn't answer.

"More to the matter at hand Dolores." Fudge said and looked down at Harry. Harry knew why Umbridge asked. She was trying to put doubts in people's heads about him. Again. "When and why did you take on the dark mark mister Potter?"

"…When I broke out of a mental control Voldemort there was an escape attempt. I got caught. As punishment he gave me the Dark Mark." Harry said simply.

"Why did he-who-must-not-be-named ask Draco Malfoy to befriend you?" Fudge continued.

"To try and lure me to his side."

"Did Draco Malfoy succeed?"

"No."

"Did you enjoy being taught dark magic?"

"No."

"Have you performed dark magic since?"

"…Yes." And since he knew he would be asked he sighed and just explained. "While staying with the Weasleys the burrow was going to be attacked by werewolves… I used druid blood magic to create a shield around the home." He said. He tensed as he heard the murmuring and whispering begin once more.

"A bit… archaic is it not? Why not set up a shield? What made you want to use such ancient magic?" Amelia Bones. Harry fidgeted.

"It was the only way I knew to make a big enough shield… I wanted to protect those around me." He shrugged.

"And did you…" Umbridge began but finally he heard Severus speak up once more.

"Are there any more questions regarding the Malfoy family? If not I will exercise my right as Harry Potter's father to end this interrogation this instant." He stated.

The Wizengamot looked at each other, Umbridge itching to ask more questions, but clearly none that related to the Malfoys so she stayed quiet.

"There are no further questions. In the case of the Malfoy family, we dismiss any charges on Draco Malfoy and declare that his actions were merely a young man's attempt to keep his family safe. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, for their cooperation in chasing down violent deatheaters and for having defected are released with no charges. This session is over." Fudge declared bringing down the gavel and ending the trial. Harry gasped softly and looked up at the Malfoys. Narcissa looked quite pleased with Harry and nodded at him, Draco was still in shock and Lucius Malfoy seemed to release a deep breath and merely gave Harry a nod before standing and leading his family out of there.

Harry rushed away from the centre of the room and returned to Severus' side, smiling apologetically. In the end he couldn't follow any of the advice they had given him this morning. Severus gave his shoulder a squeeze and nodded.

"It is done, don't think about it." He said and Harry relaxed ever so slightly. Still. He would write to that prat tonight. He left without even saying thank you. Umbridge passed by then and gave a nasty smirk much like Vernon used to give him before and after he would torment him.

"Well done mister Potter. I'm sure your parents, who thrice defied the dark arts, would be so proud." She said.

Severus stepped in front of him glaring down at the woman. "Do not speak to him Umbridge… or it will be me testifying in your hearing about every wound I healed on this boy inflicted by you." He hissed at her.

"How…dare you threaten me? To protect that boy? I can see it now… the next dark lord." She hissed. Harry flinched and she smirked walking away, being the last juror to leave. Severus was shaking with clenched fists.

"…It's ok Snape… I'm sure she's not the only one thinking that." Harry mumbled. Snape reached round to hug him tight.

"Everyone who does is a deluded maniac." More than what she said it just frustrated him that Umbridge could still hold so much power even after what she'd done to him. Still, he liked the feeling of being hugged and simply held Severus tightly, secretly smiling as the other tried to comfort him.

He heard Professor Dumbledore clear his throat and Harry hoped Severus would ignore it but in the end the potions master released him and Harry sighed softly, turning to look at Mr. Weasley and the headmaster.

"Should we head back? Molly did say she would make some treacle tart for you Harry." Mr. Weasley said and Harry smiled and nodded.