A/N: This chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written for a story. I hope that it doesn't get too long/windy. Please let me know if it gets difficult to read. Also, I would like to thank everyone who's been reading for turning this into my most popular story ever. Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll try to work around my class schedule and work to get more chapters updated!
Also, I love talking character theory and so if you have a question about why a character acted the way they did, please message me!
February 7, 2004
9:21 AM
Barrow, AK
"Alright, Noah, you told me the other day that you trained this Jester. I want to know who she is and why the hell I should go back home to fight her."
Instantly, Noah smiled. Harry thought that this was a strange reaction for someone who was basically being verbally assaulted.
"Alright, I'll tell you." Noah said as he chuckled.
"Good." Harry said as he took a seat on his couch across from Noah.
"So, I am 33 years old. I was in school in California until I was 18. After that, I took the Auror entrance exam and went through training. However, I never actually spent any time as an Auror. Instead, I was instantly recruited to start teaching at the Auror Academy in Chicago. Within six months, I was promoted to training duelists, beginning with an analysis of their abilities and then training them in a technique that they could use to use these abilities to their benefit. By the time I was 22, I was the most sought after trainer of duelists in the country. So sought after, in fact, that the Russian Ministry hired me."
"The Russians?" Harry asked. "Why? They didn't have their own people to train them?"
"I started in Moscow in 1993. In the early 1990's, the Russian Ministry went through a really rough period. Three straight Ministers were assassinated within six months. Their entire legislature boycotted a few sessions. Things were really tough there."
"What does that have to do with you?" Harry questioned.
"Well, they decided that the best way to correct the trend would be to pick a man to lead the country and then hire people to train others to protect them. So, me and three others were hired to train their new Auror recruits."
"Where you met her." Harry filled in.
"Yes, she was part of the first class I trained there." Noah said with a smile. "The test to get into the Auror Academy in Russia is one of the hardest in the world and it usually takes three or four tries to pass. But, Azoli was different. She passed with an incredibly high score on the first try and she had fantastic references. We expected a lot of wonderful things from here."
"I assume you got them." Harry said softly.
"You would assume wrong, Mr. Potter. While she always scored well on tests, her field tests were a mess. She got taken out very quickly and often seemed overwhelmed. She was still good but definitely not anywhere near great."
Harry was shocked to hear that someone so talented could end up being so average. It seemed like a waste of potential and ability.
"She just whacked Ron Weasley in a heartbeat." Harry replied sharply. "If she's often overwhelmed in the field, how the hell did she do that?"
"She got better." Noah said with a sinister smile. "She got a lot better."
"How?"
"One day, she was dueling another trainee when she unleashed a string of stunners at a speed that I had never seen before. The first one hit the shield of her opponent but the other two went straight through throwing her opponent to the ground. She was nearly kicked out of the class for it."
"Why? For being too successful?" Harry asked jokingly.
"No, in Russia, there is a very specific way to duel. Defense is the best offense, defense and anything in between. Duels are defend, counter, defend, counter, etc. She changed that. They were ready to tell her that she wasn't right for them when I was able to convince them otherwise."
"Well, if they're as stubborn as you say they are, that couldn't have been easy." Harry replied as he stood up and made his way to the bar in the corner of the living room.
"Drink?" Harry asked.
"Please." Noah replied before continuing with his story. "Anyway, no it wasn't easy. But, I managed to tell them that I could train her to be the best siege fighter they had ever seen. So, I started training her on the side."
"And that's how she turned into the killing machine she is today."
"Not quite yet." Noah replied seriously. "I told her to forgo normal defensive strategy. Make them miss and then fire and don't stop until they're on the ground. Her technique is to goad you into attack. Then, she'll dodge or deflect the first attack and return fire. However, she won't return just once or twice. She'll keep firing small curses and hexes until one slips through. When it does, everything is over. You'll be on the ground before you have any idea what's going on."
"Like Ron." Harry said as a chill went down his spine. He finished making his own drink and then walked back across the room and handed Noah his.
"Thanks." Noah said graciously. "And exactly like Mr. Weasley. You either have to be willing to fight on her terms or take the risk of fighting on your own."
"What does that even mean?" Harry asked accusingly.
"You have to adapt to her style. Dodge and fire, dodge and fire. Or...you can keep your style and defend until you get an opening and then return fire with the biggest and most destructive curses you can throw. If you try something in the middle, you'll end up like Weasley. Try and defend too long, you'll end up dead."
Harry instantly started thinking about the last time that he had been in a duel of any kind. It had been two months before his dismissal from the Auror Office. That had been well over four years ago. Even if he had been good enough to beat her then, there was no way he was now.
However, rather than think about that, Harry pressed on the one thing he was really interested in.
"How close were you?"
Harry watched as the breath in Noah's chest caught. Thinking for a second, he took a giant swig of his drink before he answered.
"I asked her to marry me."
This was exactly what Harry had expected. This was really how he knew what would get to her.
"What happened to her?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure." Noah admitted before he took another drink. "It's been about five years now since I've seen her. We started dating in early 1994, almost ten years ago. Instantly, I knew that it would be forever. She was so edgy and so powerful, yet so beautiful and refined. She was magnificent. Then in '98, everything changed."
"Don't I know it." Harry said with a grim smile as he downed the rest of his glass. "The last happy day of my life was in 1998."
"Mine, too. In March, she told me that she wanted to move to England. Now, the rest of the world knew what was going on in England. Or at least we had a very good suspicion. Pius Thicknesse was a simple a Minister as you ever had and England never has a simple Minister."
"No." Harry said softly. "We didn't, did we?"
"Anyway, we knew what was happening and she wanted to move there. It was insane. No one wanted to move to England during that time. Severus Snape kills Dumbleodre, he gets named Headmaster at Hogwarts. That alone meant things were going wrong over there and there were dozens of other things that could have tipped us off."
"So what happened?"
"On May 1st, she just left. Two days earlier, she had agreed to marry me. The day before she left, she asked me to come with her. Looking back now, she was asking me to join her. Join her in her quest for power."
"How is that she had been perfectly normal for so long and then one day just completely lost it for power?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Azoli was never normal. You see, she was called The Jester in training and for a few reasons actually. First, I'm positive that she was clinically insane. Her sense of humor was as morbid as any I remember. She told the most horrible jokes and was the biggest practical joker I could remember. Secondly, she tended to verbally abuse her opponents, usually to her advantage."
"Well that doesn't sound too bad." Harry replied.
"That wasn't. However, the flip side of that was that she craved power. She worked insane hours, often up to 100 per week, in order to get promotions. She nearly killed another trainee because he beat her on a test. Now, they later found out that he cheated off of her's but still...I was able to look passed all of that. She was simply driven to succeed."
"She wasn't though."
"Excuse me?" Noah replied harshly. "You don't even know her."
"No, but I knew Lord Voldemort. All he wanted was power. He blamed everything on blood but realistically, it just gave him a good platform to operate from. All he wanted was control. Azoli saw that, envied it and joined him."
"She did. The last time I saw her was January of 1999. She had been on the run for nearly seven months because of the fact that she had joined Lord Voldemort."
"She didn't need to worry about it." Harry replied with a smirk. "They didn't know over half of the people who were there. Unless you were caught at the battle or they had previous evidence against you, they couldn't prosecute half the people who got away."
"Well she obviously didn't know that." Noah said with a chuckle. "Anyway, after she disappeared, I moved back to Anchorage. One night, she appeared on my doorstep."
"I bet that was a shock."
"You have no idea." Noah replied, a haunted look in his eyes. "It was a downpour outside and she was absolutely soaked. The look in her eyes were terrifying. She said she had discovered unimaginable power. Then, she took off and I haven't seen her again since then."
There's no way that Hermione could have expected Harry to be that angry. She figured that he was bitter, scared or embarrassed. There was never a thought in her mind that said that after all these years, Harry could still be angry. But when she heard Harry's voice, the rough rage that burned beneath the surface, she knew that he wasn't playing and he definitely wasn't acting.
"Well that was interesting." Cho said softly as they walked back towards the bar where they would be staying the night.
"Did he tell you not to bring me here?" Hermione asked her.
"Not you specifically." Cho answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm pretty sure he said that he didn't want anyone to know where he was."
"And you disobeyed him?" Hermione scolded.
Suddenly, Cho stopped in the snow, whipped around to Hermione and let her have it.
"Harry Potter is a fantastic wizard, no doubt. But right now, Harry Potter is a broken man. He's not some god to be worshiped or some great leader to be obeyed. I chose my own actions, believing that they would help Harry more than they would hurt them."
"How can you say that?" Hermione yelled. "Did you see the look on his face?"
"Yes. But you didn't see the look on his face after you left." Cho answered evenly.
After she left. What did that mean.
"I've never seen a man look so depressed in his entire life. Looking at you brought a whole host of memories back to him. All of the good things you went through. Did you even really hear what he said in there?"
"Which part?" Hermione asked.
"The part where he said that he loved you." Cho answered.
"Yes, I heard that. Why?"
"Because when he said that, I knew that we had gotten to him. That the simple fact of us being there to torment him was forcing him to relive things that he wanted to forget. But Harry's smarter than that. He knows that you can't simply forget something. Not something as deep and as close as the two of you shared."
"He was my best friend." Hermione said softly. "Nothing more."
"Nothing more? Do you remember when he let that man do that biography on him after he lost his fortune? Do you remember what he said about you?"
"Not exactly, no." Hermione replied honestly.
"I'm no good with remember exact wording but it was something like, 'Hermione was the thing that kept me afloat and kept me moving. In those moments, she became the most important part of my world.'"
Hermione was stunned, stopped in the middle of the street.
"How do you remember that?" Hermione asked her suspiciously.
"A few ways. First, I just read it again two weeks ago while I was searching for him. Second, well..."
"Well, what?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I'm not sure." Cho admitted. "After I got over the whole Marietta thing and realized what a dunce she had been, I wanted another chance with him. There was something gentle and loving about him that no other guy I ever dated had. I know I'm fairly attractive and that seems to be all they wanted to know about me."
"Harry was the same way." Hermione informed her.
"I know he was." Cho said with an immature giggle. "I watched him stare at me in the hallways for three years. But what was amazing was that during those DA meetings, he didn't look at me the same way. When I learned from him, when I opened myself up to him, he treated me better than anyone I had ever been with. The words in that book...I wanted him to say them about me."
"Why didn't things work out then?" Hermione asked they entered the bar.
"Because of Cedric." Cho replied bluntly.
"What?"
"Cedric died and Harry watched it happen. Harry didn't want to talk about it and I thought that I had to. I probably should have talked to someone about it, but I should have known that Harry didn't want to talk about that. It kind of blew up from there. I was upset that he wanted to hang with you just as much as me and then the whole Marietta thing."
"Why would him wanting to hang out with me upset you?" Hermione asked. "We had been friends since first year and Harry had never shown any interest in me."
"Because I was a 16 year old girl." Cho said, as if that explained everything.
"Ah." Hermione said with a smile.
The two of them walked up to the bar and took a seat at a pair of stools. The bartender came over and once he had taken their drink orders and filled them, they were the only ones there.
"All I wanted was for Harry to be happy." Hermione said out of the blue.
"Me too." Cho replied as she took a large gulp of the scotch in front of her.
"I think that's all anyone wanted."
"Not Amos." Cho answered.
"What makes you say that?" Hermione questioned.
"How much time did you spend with Amos Diggory outside of your work on that committee?" Cho asked, referencing their time spent on the committee that blamed Harry.
"None." Hermione answered. "I didn't think it would have been appropriate. We were all trying to formulate our own opinions and I didn't want to discuss the case with anyone outside of our meetings."
"Well, I saw him. My family is very good friends with the Diggory family. We had them over for dinner parties and for drinks quite often. The way Amos talked about Harry was...unique."
"How so?" Hermione asked, suddenly curious.
"While he praised Harry the same way that everyone else did, there was always a growl to it that no one else seemed to have. He was the only person I knew that added "buts" to the end of sentences like 'I'm so thankful for what that Potter boy did for us.'"
"Cho, are you saying that our committee was led by a man who secretly hated Harry Potter?" Hermione pressed.
Suddenly, the thought of this was pressed into her mind. If Amos Diggory hated Harry, then the fact that he had been on that committee could have been no accident. Now as Hermione thought about, she can't remember Amos saying one good thing about Harry over the course of her time on the committee. Hermione instantly felt the urge to vomit.
"He wasn't so secret about it, Hermione." Cho replied. "He paid for the lawyers against Harry in the lawsuit."
"I thought that was simply because he wanted those people to have a fair shot. A lot of them were quite poor and could have never afforded to get legal help."
"Yeah, legal help in a case against a man that Amos had been part of a committee that had told the whole country that the war was his fault." Cho said as she finished her drink.
"Are you saying...?"
"I'm saying that I'm pretty sure it's been public knowledge for years that Amos Diggory pulled a lot of strings to make Harry miserable." Cho replied darkly.
"Oh my god, how did I not see it?" Hermione yelled, scaring the bartender off of his stool at the other end of the bar.
"Because you weren't looking." Cho replied with a pointed stare.
The moment the words left her mouth, Hermione knew what Cho meant. Hermione didn't see because she wasn't looking. She wasn't looking because she didn't want to look. She didn't want to look because she was afraid she would lose her job.
Harry was right.
Harry was so right.
Hermione had been a willing accomplice to the machinations of an angry father and to her own hopes of a better job. She had given Harry up to keep her job.
"I have to go apologize to him." Hermione said as she jumped down from her stood.
"Save it until morning." Cho replied.
"Why? I need to see him now!"
"Unless you want Harry blasting you off his front porch, I would suggest staying here. This version of Harry stays madder a lot longer." Cho said with a smirk.
"Fine." Hermione said as she stood up from her stool. "I'm heading to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Hermione finished her drink and then marched up the stairs on the other side of the room to the first door on the left, her room in Barrow. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see an envelope lying on the bed.
She reached down and grabbed it, tearing it open.
Floo Me.
-Arthur Weasley
Knowing exactly what he meant, Hermione quickly turned around the fireplace in her room. She guessed that this being Alaska, they probably came fairly standard. Quickly, she grabbed the pouch that she had set on the fireplace and threw a bit of it into the fire.
"Arthur Weasley!" she yelled as she knelt down next to the fire. Instantly, she felt the fire wrap around her as she saw the Minister of Magic's office come into view.
Arthur Weasley turned around in his chair and leaned down to speak with her.
"Hermione, how is he?" Arthur asked desperately.
"He was fine until I got here." Hermione said with a depressed cackle. "He was not happy to see me."
"You couldn't have expected him to be, Hermione."
"I know." Hermione replied, although she didn't feel it and Arthur could tell.
"It wasn't all your fault, Hermione." he said softly. "We couldn't have known how he would take all of that."
"He shouldn't have been forced to." Hermione replied, nearly mimicking the growl in Harry's voice. "After all he went through, we should have given him enough money to live life without lifting another finger."
"I know, Hermione. We couldn't have known how much they would take from him."
October 2, 1999
London, UK
Wizengamot Grand Courtroom
"I hereby call the following case entitled The Families of The Dead and Other Grievances of The Battle of Hogwarts and The Second Wizarding War Against Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix v Harry Potter to order." Griselda Marchbanks, newly appointed leader of the Wizengamot, declared.
Hermione couldn't believe that they were back in this courtroom so soon. After the July 24 ruling against Harry that stated that it was his fault for The Battle of Hogwarts and the Second Wizarding War, people started clamoring that someone needed to pay for the damages to the school and the families of those who died at the Battle.
Then, one month ago, a civil case was filed on the behalf of The Families of the Dead Organization that had been created after The Battle of Hogwarts. This organization, while they left it out of their public name, were a group of people that had blamed Harry for the war to begin with. Once the court agreed with them, they started coming out of the woodwork to file against Harry.
One month ago, they filed the largest civil lawsuit against a single person in the country's history. 49 families and the governors of the school along with several businesses in Hogsmeade had joined together to sue Harry. The amount of money they were asking for was unheard of: 2,000,000 Galleons.
To put things in perspective, Harry was required to present information on how much he was worth. With the Potter fortune, the money Sirius left him and his new home plus Grimmauld Place, he was worth a total of 900,000 Galleons.
Today, The Families of the Dead Organization was going to ask for all of it. While there were numerous families represented, only four families would be present at the trial. They were the families of Emmeline Vance, Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour and Lavender Brown. The events of the takeover of the Ministry of Magic and the attacks beforehand had become public knowledge and with that, the deaths of Vance and Bones had been brought back up again after the fact.
Harry sat alone behind one of the two tables that sat in the middle of the main court room. Although Hermione had done everything she could to help him, he wouldn't allow her. In fact, he had barely talked to her in months. She knew that he was still angry at her for testifying against him during the trial, but she couldn't imagine that he would be angry with her too much longer.
"As we have already held most of the preliminary hearings on this matter, we will hear both sides of the argument today and then the Wizengamot will make a decision in this matter. While normally we would not hear testimony on a case like this, we have decided that the court needs to hear some live testimony in order to understand the pain and suffering that these families have endured. However, we will limit it to one member of each of the families present today. After they present, we will take a short recess and then Mr. Potter will be allowed to present his side. Does this please both sides?"
"It does not!" cried David Wallace, the lead counsel for the Families. "Each and every family that has been harmed by this travesty deserves to be heard."
"Mr. Wallace, we have already discussed this." Griselda said dispassionately. "You cannot and will not bring in 57 witnesses. Mr. Potter and these families deserve to have this resolved quickly."
"What Mr. Potter deserves is to be thrown in Azkaban for the rest of his days!"
That was the voice of Christopher Brown, the father of Lavender Brown, who had stood up and pointed at Harry with an accusing finger. Harry didn't even bother looking over. He just continued to stare blankly at the table and files in front of him.
"Mr. Brown, if you wish to remain in this courtroom, you will hold your tongue! Mr. Wallace, another outburst from you or your clients and I am throwing this case out and throwing you in jail! Now, keep control!"
Despite being nearly 145 years old, Griselda Marchbanks was a fireball and not someone to be toyed with. She appeared to calm down for a second before moving forward.
"Mr. Wallace, call your first witness."
"We call Doris Scrimgeour to the stand." Wallace replied smoothly.
Slowly, a slightly-older than middle aged woman rose from the accusers' table and made her way to the chair in the middle of the courtroom. There, she sat down and took a deep breath. Finally, once she settled in, she nodded her head, indicating that she was ready.
"State your name."
"My name is Doris Scrimgeour, widow of former Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour." she said softly.
"Mrs. Scrimgeour, please describe the day you learned of your husband's death."
Instantly, she dove into her story of the takeover of the Ministry. She told them how she learned from Kingsley Shacklebolt in the same way that they had learned. She learned that Kingsley had been in the next room when Rufus had refused to give up Harry, resulting in his death. Once she was done, tears streamed down her face.
"How has your life been affected by your husband's death?"
"I have four children, all of them just old enough to be starting at Hogwarts now. Thankfully, they go to school for most of the year. But when they get home, it is very difficult to take care of all of them by myself. Plus, because of a bad case of dragon pox when I was 27, I can only be on my feet for a few hours a day. This makes it very difficult to work. As it is, I've had to take a lot of assistance that I wouldn't have had to have if Rufus had been alive."
"Who do you blame for your husband's death?" Wallace asked again, obviously going for the big one.
"I blame Harry Potter. The rest of the wizarding world does too. We all should. Barely of age and he thinks that he can take on You-Know-Who by himself? Lunacy, that's what that is. No, that young man owes me and the rest of the world a big thank you that we didn't throw him in jail with the Death Eaters."
This was already not going well for Harry. The widowed and disabled wife of the Minister of Magic was laying it on thick and Hermione could see around the room that they were going for it.
When Hermione looked at the floor again, she noticed that Wallace had taken his seat and Harry had stepped forward to question her.
"Who killed your husband?" Harry asked harshly.
"You did."
"I did?" Harry asked, faking shock. Hermione knew that he knew what her answer would be. "You may blame me for your late husband's death but I can conjure about 100 witness who will say they saw me at Bill Weasley's wedding when your husband was murdered."
"You may not have cast the spell but it was your fault that he was put in that position at all."
"It was my fault that Rufus took the Minister's job?"
"No." she replied softly. "It was your fault that he was forced to defend you."
"He didn't have to. He could have just given me up." Harry replied quickly. "No further questions."
Hermione thought that Harry definitely could have pushed her farther. However, they both knew that driving the dagger into a widow may not be a tactic that would be seen positively in the court of public opinion.
The next man called up was James Vance, Emmeline Vance's oldest son. He was a few years younger than Harry and Hermione but looked years older. He was incredibly well put together. Whether that was how he normally dressed or if that was Wallace's influence and instruction, Hermione wasn't sure.
"Mr. Vance, how did your mother die?" Wallace asked, going straight for the heart.
"She was killed by Rabastian Lastrange in 1996. She was part of a group of people protecting the Muggle Prime Minister when they were attacked. She died to save everyone else." he said with a smooth baritone voice that seemed strange coming out of someone so young.
"She died a hero's death then." Wallace replied before turning back to him. "Why is this Harry Potter's fault? Your mother died before Harry Potter knew of the Horcruxes."
"But he knew of the Prophecy."
Ouch. The Prophecy had come up in the trial and had really made Harry look bad. Most people said that with that knowledge, he should have quit school, which was not mandatory, and started his training to defeat the Dark Lord.
"What does that matter?"
"Well, if he knew that the he needed to kill You-Know-Who, then he should have been more proactive. Maybe if he had asked more questions or been more aggressive in trying to kill Lord Voldemort, my mother wouldn't have needed to protect anyone and she would still be here today."
"Thank you." Wallace said before turning back to his seat.
Again, Harry stood and marched towards the witness.
"Have you ever been responsible for defeating evil?"
"No."
"Have you ever been told that without you, the whole world will end?"
"No."
"Have you ever witnessed your godfather, mentor and the man who risked years of his life to protect you die before your very eyes?"
"No."
"Have you ever been a teenager?"
This questions seemed to throw James off guard. Harry got tired of waiting for the confused young man to answer and asked again.
"Have you, James Vance, every been a teenager?"
"I mean, I'm only 17 years old. I'm still a teenager." he replied nervously.
"What do you like to do?" Harry asked him.
"Sir?"
"In your free time, what do you like to do?"
"I play Quidditch, hang out with my friends, talk to girls, I guess."
"Girls? Do you have a girlfriend?" Harry asked. James slowly nodded.
"Do you know how old I was when your mother died?" Harry asked harshly, suddenly changing his demeanor back to the angry man he had been moments before.
"No."
"I wasn't quite 16 years old. As a 15 year old, what were your main responsibilities?"
"Cleaning, schoolwork, those kinds of things."
"Do you know what mine were?" Harry growled.
"No."
"Saving the world from the most powerful wizard of all time."
With that, Harry spun on the spot and returned to his desk, leaving a stunned James Vance to stare into space. He sat there for nearly 15 seconds before Wallace was able to convince him to get up and go back to his seat. Once James Vance was seated, the next witness was called. While this wasn't a very joyous occasion, Hermione thought that one plus had to be that they were moving things very quickly.
The next witness was Christopher Brown, father of Lavender Brown and previous outburster in the court. He was an older man with greying hair and fierce brown eyes. He slowly walked to the witness stand, eyeing Harry the entire time. Harry never looked up once.
"Mr. Brown, your daughter was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, correct?"
"Yes." she replied sharply. "She was mangled and murdered by Fenrir Greyback."
"When exactly did your daughter die?" Wallace asked, starting to lead Mr. Brown.
"May 11."
"May 11?" he asked in feigned disbelief. "You cannot mean that she died 9 days after the Battle?"
"She was left on the floor of the Great Hall, bloodied, chewed and broken. When we found her, she was mostly dead as she was. We took her to St. Mungo's and they did everything they could but the bleeding just couldn't be stopped. She died early in the morning for the 11th."
Wallace, who had waited for Mr. Brown to finish, stepped forward, ready to fire again.
"Christopher, was your daughter in an organization known as Dumbledore's Army?"
"She was." he replied firmly.
"Can you explain to me what the "DA" was about?" Wallace asked.
"Dumbledore's Army was a club formed by Harry Potter during his fifth year. Its purpose was to help students learn defense spells when the Ministry was not allowing them to use practical magic in class." he answered slowly.
"Seems like a good idea, does it not?"
"It does. I supported her decision to be in it at the time."
"Why then if you trusted Mr. Potter to teach your daughter do you blame him now?" Wallace asked, getting to the point of the issue.
"For two reasons. First, if Potter had trained my daughter better, she may have been able to survive." he answered first in part.
Suddenly, Harry jumped up. This statement, a knock on his ability to lead, obviously offended him.
"You can't blame me for your daughter's inability to defend herself!" Harry screamed at the man.
"I can when you were supposed to be responsible for it!" Mr. Brown replied.
Suddenly, a blast echoed through the courtroom silencing everyone. Hermione looked up to see Griselda standing with her wand in the air, a look of rage on her face.
"Mr. Potter, you will hold your tongue." she ordered sternly.
"My apologies." Harry said as he sat down.
That outburst was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. Now, it made him seem unstable and unable to control himself. It would make him much easier to blame for the things that had gone wrong.
"Continue." Wallace said to Christopher when the courtroom settled in again.
"The second reason is that the only reason she was there is because she was part of that organization. If she had not been part of that organization, she would have done the smart thing and run away!"
"Objection!" Harry shouted. "That is highly speculative, Miss Marchbacks."
"I agree." Griselda said before turning to Wallace. "Control your client and your questioning."
David Wallace simply smiled and turned back to the court: "Your turn, Potter."
Harry stood up and quickly marched towards Christopher Brown. He quickly got within inches of him and began his interrogation.
"How old was Lavender when she died?"
"What does that matter?" Brown replied, growling back at him.
"Answer the question, Mr. Brown, unless you enjoy Azkaban." Harry replied with an evil smile.
"Your Honor!" David Wallace yelled from his table.
"Mr. Potter, watch your tone. Mr. Brown, answer the damn question." Griselda order as she rolled her eyes.
"What was the question again?" Mr. Brown snarled.
"How old was your daughter when she died?" Harry replied simply.
"Two days shy of her 18th birthday."
"So she was an adult."
"Yes."
"That means that she is responsible for herself that point. That she is definitively able to make her own choices. Is that correct?"
Mr. Brown appeared to understand why Harry was viewed as one of the best interrogators in the Auror Office. He was even more brutal when there weren't this many people watching.
"Yes."
"Do you know what Lavender's attendance record was for DA meetings?"
"How would I know that, Mr. Potter?" Christopher asked harshly.
"It was simply a question." Harry answered innocently. "However, I do know the answer. During our fifth year, when the DA was active, we had 30 meetings. The average member attended 27 of those meetings with a large percentage of the group attending 29 or 30 meetings. Would you like to know how many Lavender attended?"
The courtroom was silent as they waited for Harry's answer. Obviously, Christopher Brown did not want to hear. Unfortunately for him, Harry was about to tell him.
"16 meetings. Barely over half of the meeting times. During the meetings that she did attend, Lavender showed great improvement. However, her devotion to her training was not good enough and therefore, she did not learn everything that she was supposed to learn. Maybe, if she had shown up more, she wouldn't have died."
Harry turned around and marched back to his table as Mr. Brown jumped from his chair, launching himself towards Harry. Suddenly, Harry turned around and cast a silent Cutting Curse that hit Mr. Brown directly in the leg, causing him to drop the ground in agony.
"That, Mr. Brown, was a Cutting Curse." Harry informed the wounded man. "We learned that in the DA. However, my records indicate that your daughter wasn't there that day. She wouldn't have known how to block it either."
The medics that had been nearby raced into the room and pulled Mr. Brown to the side of the room and began examining his injuries. Hermione knew that there wouldn't be any lasting damage. Harry would never be that rash.
"Our final witness is Susan Bones."
This is the one that Hermione had been dreading. Someone as well respected as Susan Bones represented by someone who Harry knew very well. This was a nightmare situation and it could be the one that put the nail in Harry's coffin if he didn't play his cards right.
Susan calmly took her seat, avoiding Harry's eyes entirely.
"Ms. Bones, how were you related to Amelia Bones?"
"Amelia was my aunt." Susan answered simply.
Hermione could see Harry was already struggling with Susan. Susan worked in the Auror Office as well. She had started a year after Harry and had become a trainer. The two talked often and there were even some who suggested that a possible romance could happen if Harry ever got over letting Ginny go. However, with this, that could never happen. Harry would never forgive Susan for something like this.
"Your aunt? How did she die?"
"She was killed by Lord Voldemort himself in her pantry."
"How do you know who she was killed by?" Mr. Wallace asked.
Hermione thought it was a strange question to ask. No one knew exactly who had killed Amelia Bones and there had been no witnesses. This seemed like a question Harry would have asked.
"Because I saw him do it."
Suddenly, the courtroom was into a state of complete shock. Griselda had to fire her wand numerous times in order to the court.
"How did you see him do it?" Mr. Wallace pressed.
"I was outside her home, picking vegetables for dinner. It was a tradition of ours. Suddenly, I heard a pop and I turned and saw him. He was pale as a ghost with a snake-like nose and red eyes. Instantly, I ducked down onto the ground, hoping that the rows of corn in Amelia's yard would give me cover. Suddenly, I heard an explosion and then a series of blasts. This went on for several minutes. Then, nothing. When I got up, I searched the house and found nothing. Suddenly, I had a sudden urge to check the pantry and that's where I found her dead body."
"That is truly horrible." Wallace said with a pity that may or may not have been fake. "Why are you here today? Do you want money?"
"No." Susan said softly.
"Then why testify against Harry Potter?" Wallace replied with a sneer.
"Because my family needs something. My uncle and cousins lost nearly all of their financial support when my aunt was killed. While my uncle has been working two jobs, they still aren't able to make enough money to support themselves. They need help. I don't want any of the money. I feel awful being here."
"Nothing further." Wallace replied, a victorious grin on his face.
Hermione watched as Harry took a deep breath before standing up and approaching Susan. Hermione knew how much this was going to hurt Harry to do this but if he didn't, there was a chance he could lose everything.
"Susan, I'm sorry for your aunt." Harry said softly.
"I know, Harry. I don't blame you."
"Then why are you here?" Harry asked her. This wasn't an interrogation. This was a public confessional between two people who had become very good friends over the course of the last year and a half.
"I'm here because my family needs help." Susan replied.
"And my money is the only way they can get it?" Harry asked.
"Harry, the war may not have been your fault and my aunt's death may not have been your fault. But someone has to help those people that lost everything in the war. You have more money than most wizards and certainly you could spare some of it."
Harry turned away abruptly as he thought of an answer.
"Do you know how much The Families Organization is asking for?"
"40,000 Galleons per party." Susan answer matter-of-factly.
"Correct. Do you know how many parties they represent?"
"50, I believe."
"50 parties for 40,000 Galleons. That's 2,000,000 Galleons. That's more money than George Weasley has."
"Someone has to pay it, Harry."
"Some people could pay it. We could have a fundraiser or a benefit. I could do speaks for charity. Do you know how much I'm worth?" Harry pleaded.
Hermione could sense that Harry was getting desperate. He had stopped asking questions about her aunt and had started asking about the money. Everyone knew that if Harry didn't prove much of anything, he was going to lose. Since he hadn't been overly successful in wooing the people in the courtroom, he was now metaphorically begging. It wasn't that Harry wanted to keep his money. It was that again he would be blamed. But this time, it would cost him everything. He would have to empty his vaults, sell his homes and move in with a friend because it would be months before he could support himself again.
Harry had once even jokingly said that he would be forced to return to the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley's.
At least Hermione thought she had been kidding.
"I'm worth just a little under 1,000,000 Galleons. If they win, I'll be left with nothing." Harry said, tears of frustration rolling down his face. "Even if you believe that I'm wrong, why would you support them knowing that they are going to make me broke?"
"Because my family has no other options...and I would do anything for my family."
"That...I can respect." Harry said as he took his seat.
After a fifteen minute break, it was Harry's turn. He would keep it brief. He wasn't going to call any witnesses. He was simply going to talk to the court about his experience. If he succeeded, fantastic. If not, he couldn't say that it wasn't what he expected.
"People die in war." Harry started. "That's what we were in: a war. A war with an army that didn't play by the rules and didn't care who got in the way."
Harry stood in the middle of the court and simply addressed the crowd. Over the years, he had turned into a fantastic public speak, something he would desperately need today.
"People got in the way and they died and that is horrible. My heart goes out to each and every one of those people and their families. Now, was I an important part of that war? Yes. Could I have done things differently that may have ended things differently? Possibly. Does that make me responsible for their deaths?"
Suddenly, Harry stopped and looked directly at Hermione. He knew that she was there and he wanted to speak directly to her for a moment.
"No." Harry bellowed. "No, it does not. Despite what the recent court ruling may suggest, I did not kill every single person who died during the war. In fact, I only was directly responsible for the death of one person: Lord Voldemort, the one person everyone wanted me to kill."
"Now, I understand that because people got in the way and died, there are those who are upset. However, I cannot be held responsible for the deaths of every single person who died. If you find me responsible, you are ignoring the fact that there were hundreds of Aurors and Ministry workers who were responsible for your safety that let you down."
With that, Harry turned back to his table and took a seat. He only hoped that what he had said in his brief message would be enough to sway them.
October 4, 1999
Two days later, the court had finally made their decision. It was the longest decision in the history of Wizarding England.
Everyone had taken their original places and waited for the verdict. Hermione sat nervous at the edge of the room while she watched Harry who fiddled nervously with the papers in front of him.
Suddenly, Griselda Marchbanks entered the room, marching at a pace that shouldn't have been possible considering her age. As she waved everyone down from their standing position, she spoke.
"Normally, a case like this would have been thrown out on the spot. However, due to the previous decision of the Wizengamot in the case against Harry Potter, I felt that it was something that needed to be heard."
Hermione couldn't breath. She just sat there and prayed to something.
"Mr. Potter, it is unfortunate that the previous court's decision work against you. In a normal case where no precedent had been set, I believe that you would have had to pay a minor fee to the families and that would have been it. However..."
With that, Hermione knew that it was over. She continued to hold her breath through Marchbanks' words.
"However, the combination of evidence heard here and the prior case set means that we do find you, Harry James Potter, liable for the deaths of the Battle of Hogwarts. The fee of 2,000,000 dollars is to be paid to the Families Organization to be dispersed."
The echo of the cheers from the accusers table rang out over the image of Harry sinking into his chair. He appeared to be sobbing into his hand, knowing what this verdict meant. He would be in debt for the rest of his life.
"However, Mr. Potter, your words on the responsibility of the Ministry were correct. Therefore, the Ministry will pay 1,000,001 Galleons of that fee to the Familes Organization, leaving you to pay the remaining 999,999. We thank you all for your time and have a good day."
February 7, 2004
"Why didn't we help him more?" Hermione asked.
"We tried." Arthur replied. "But they took everything from him."
Hermione sat in silence for a moment as she finished reflecting on the trial and the lawsuit. How horrible everything had been to Harry that he had ended up running, unable to face the world.
"Hermione, I need you to come home. Leave Ms. Chang there to watch Harry."
"Why?" Hermione asked in disappointment and shock.
"There are reports that The Jester has been sighted in country. We need you back here."
"Alright. I'll leave in the morning." Hermione replied softly.
"Tell Cho she needs to bring Harry back." Arthur ordered. "I'm going to do some work on that."
"What work?"
"Well, I can tell you that it rhymes with executive action."