Hush Little Baby
Chapter 8
Harry held Tom protectively in the large courtroom. They were surrounded by the many faces of the wizengamot. Tom trembled with fear in Harry's comforting arms. At least Daddy was here, Daddy would make everything better, Tom tried to tell himself with simply childlike trust.
One member of the wizengamot, a fairly new member, read aloud the LONG LONG list of offences. Many times, to protect Tom's innocent mind, Harry had to cover his ears.
"Minister, can we just get on with it, before Tom is traumatized for life?"
Scrimgeour turned a fascinating shade of puce and pulled out a folder of legal documents. "If you are that eager to hear the boy's decided fate, then very well. Far be it for me to keep you waiting Mr. Potter." He opened the folder. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, AKA Voldemort, AKA You-Know-Who, AKA He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, are you ready to hear your sentence?"
The boy shrugged, although still scared. "I no know. What setent mean?" Tom asked innocently.
One wizengamot member giggled slightly, but Minister Scrimgeour missed the humor.
"When a person does bad things, their punishment is called a SENTENCE. That is why YOU are here."
Tom looked visibly relieved for some reason. "But I goo boy, I no do bad tings, I tink. Daddy say I goo boy." He batted his large naïve eyes at the ministry court.
Others laughed at the declaration. One woman turned to Scrimgeour. "Minister, are you sure this is the right thing?"
"He's TOO CUTE!" another lady agreed.
Rufus Scrimgeour gnashed his teeth. This was not going as planned. "Of course we are. Get on with the sentencing." He felt like banging his head on the podium.
The nice lady sighed. "We, the wizengamot, to protect the people, wizard and muggle, hereby sentence Mr. Harry James Potter to death." All at once heads snapped up.
"WHAT!!!" Scrimgeour shouted.
Harry smirked and handed Scrimgeour a few folded sheets of paper. He loved Mr. Weasley for his connections definitely. "I am Tom's father. The Weasley's are his godparents. According to the law, the sins of the son are the sins of the father. In the event that an underage child, save for an expulsion hearing, the punishment is given to the father of the child. Clearly, the magic recognizes Tom as the two-year old he is. That means the one you must execute is me."
Scrimgeour was ready to cry. He was ruined. He'd sentenced the Boy-Who-Lived to die. The chosen one, the savior of the wizarding world. He was finished as minister. And thanks to the fact that the sentence was magically and legally binding, they couldn't change it. Oh, he was so screwed.
"Mr. Potter, are you truly prepared to lay down your life for this murderer. He killed your parents." Scrimgeour asked. Maybe he could get Harry to destroy the adoption papers.
Harry nodded and turned his eyes to Tom, who was simply confused all over again. "You'll go back to the Weasley's. They'll take care of you now." he told Tom. A single tear fell from his eyes.
Tom touched Harry's cheek. "You come home soon?" he asked, not really understanding.
Harry shook his head. "No, I won't be coming home." He dabbed at his eyes. "But, you'll be okay. You're so strong and the Weasley's will love you so much." He placed Tom into the arms of the kind auror, Pickering.
Tom shrieked and launched himself back at Harry. "No, Daddy! You say you 'tay with me, fo'eber." The boy began to cry yet again. "Fo'eber, you pomise! You 'tay!"
Harry caught the flailing Tom. "Tom, I know you won't understand but, just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not with you. I'll always be with you…."
All at once, Scrimgeour felt the cold eyes of every single member of the wizengamot boring holes into the back of his head. He groaned and pounded his head on the desk. He was toast. But it was too late. Life was so unfair. "Mr. Potter, if you'll put the child down, so we can get on with the execution." (All executions were performed right in the courtroom on the same day as the sentencing, to protect the dignity of the condemned.)
Tom tried to hold on as Harry handed him back over to the nice auror. "DADDY!"
Harry pet Tom's head. "You be good, kiddo." He stepped away and looked at the minister. "I'm ready."
Scrimgeour pasted a professional look on his face. "Uh, yes, Harry James Potter, for the crimes committed by Tom Marvolo Riddle-Potter, has been sentenced to death. Execution Method: The Killing Curse." Scrimgeour looked at the executioner. "Get on with your job."
Harry turned to face, stone-eyed at the executioner. He was naturally masked, but his discomfort was not. But Harry was not afraid. He was doing the right thing. As the executioner raised his wand, Harry took one last look at Tom, the child he had adopted only to die for hours later. Apparently, the prophecy would come true after all. He smiled at Baby Tom, paying no attention to the green light forming behind him. He managed to throw him a quick thumbs-up before slipping into oblivion.
AN: Yes, Harry sacrificed himself. But don't worry, there will be a happy ending.