A/N: I own nothing... Nothing I tell you! ;_;
The Millennium Earl's anger was quite palatable as Clio sat down at the table for breakfast and she knew the reason why. All summer, the English Ministry of
Magic had been running smear campaign on both her and Dumbledore and barely ten days ago, she had received a letter saying that she had to show up for
a disciplinary hearing at the English Ministry of Magic on August Twelfth. It was currently six a.m. and they would be leaving for England within the hour.
Clio knew that her betrothed was going to do something drastic when they arrived at the disciplinary hearing, which he had informed her was most likely
going to turn into a mockery of a trial in an attempt to discredit her even more, and she could only pray that he didn't end up killing someone. Her gaze
flickered from her porridge to the Earl, who was in his human form and currently going over some papers with Sheril. His face was schooled into his 'business'
face as she liked to call it but you could see the rage deep in his eyes, which were practically glowing. She really hoped he didn't kill anyone today. Finishing
up her breakfast, Clio quietly excused herself before retreating to her room to change into something more suitable to wear. As she flicked through the
numerous outfits in her closet (why did she have so many dresses?), Road came bouncing into the room and helped her pick out an outfit. It was a black
pleated skirt that fell to her knees and a white blouse with a dark gray vest and white leggings. Road tied a red ribbon around her neck in a loose bow before
brushing her short hair (something that Road did at every opportunity while whining that Clio should grow her hair out) and miraculously getting it to stay
flat. After slipping on a pair of black ankle boots, Clio strapped her wand holster to her arm and slipped her wand into it before she tugged her sleeve over top.
Glancing at herself in the mirror, Clio's hand found the pendant the Earl had given her on her fifteenth birthday. It was made of silver and designed to
resemble the stigmata that adorned the foreheads of every member of the Noah Clan and it hung from a simple black ribbon choker, the bottom most tip of
the pendant just brushing against the hollow of her throat. It was a sign that she was a member of the Clan, regardless of the fact that she was not a Noah.
"Those English Wizards are idiots." Clio glanced at Road, who hadn't been as bouncy or hyper as she normally was.
"What do you mean?" asked Clio.
"The Earl is going to put them in their place." said Road nonchalantly "They attacked your honor and, by extension, his honor, seeing as you are his fiancée."
"I just hope he doesn't kill anyone." said Clio "Even if they deserve it." Road giggled a bit.
"He won't." she replied "Millennie has more control than that. Though he may scare the crap out of them if they push him to far." Clio sighed softly as she
played with the engagement ring Adam had given her on her birthday. It was a simple, thin platinum band inset with a single, flawless, clear diamond that
shimmered with what seemed to be an inner fire of unmatched intensity. She stopped when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in~!" called Road as Clio pulled on the jacket that went with her skirt. The door opened, revealing Adam. He was clad in his usual attire
but his top hat was nowhere to be seen. Lero was floating beside him as he entered the room.
"It is seven a.m.," said Adam "Are you ready to leave, miss Potter?"
"Yes." said Clio as she walked up to him while tugging on a pair of white gloves. His anger appeared to have faded somewhat but Clio knew that it
was probably waiting to spring forward at the first opportunity. Adam grabbed Lero and twirled him once, the annoying pumpkin headed umbrella turning
into a cane before he offered his arm to Clio, which she grasped
"Then let us be off." he said as he lead Clio through an Ark gate. Clio felt a flare of warmth from a fire as they exited through a fireplace. He allowed her to
release his arm as he slicked back some hair that had fallen out of place.
"Stay close, little one." he said he took the lead and walked down the long, splendid hall with highly polished dark wood floors, ignoring the witches and
wizards entering and exiting fireplaces. Clio managed to catch up to his long strides before reaching out and grasping his hand. She saw a smile twitch at
the corner of his mouth as he adjusted her hold so that it was like it had been before they had exited the fireplace. The slight smile was replaced by a scowl
as they reached a fountain about halfway down the hall. It had five golden statues in the center: a witch, a wizard, a centaur, a goblin, and a house elf.
The witch and wizard were placed higher than the other three and in the center of the group with the other three statues looking up at them adoringly.
It's message was blatantly clear and it made Clio a bit sick to think that she wouldn't have even given this statue a second thought or glance had she not
been found by her fiancé this summer. English wizards were a bunch of racist supremacists quite unlike the almost laid-back Portuguese witches and wizards
she had gotten to meet this summer. Glancing up at Adam again, she noticed that his jaw was clenched and his whole face was set in a dark scowl but it was
quickly relaxed into his business face as they approached the Security desk beside the golden entry gates. He released Clio again as the badly shaven wizard
in peacock blue robes seated at the desk looked up at them before setting down his copy of the Daily Prophet.
"We're here for a disciplinary hearing for my ward." said Adam. The wizard nodded and stepped out from behind the desk with a long, thin, and flexible golden
rod in his hand. He passed it up and down their front and back before setting it down on the desk.
"Wands?" said the wizard. Adam nodded and Clio removed her wand from its holster before handing it over to the wizard, who deposited it on a brass,
scale-like instrument with only one dish. The instrument vibrated and a slip slid out of the base of the instrument.
"Eleven inches, holly with a phoenix feather core that's been in use for four years. Correct?"
"Yes sir." said Clio before her wand was handed back to her while the slip was impaled on a brass spike
"You're next sir." said the wizard. Adam twirled his cane between his fingers, the cane shrinking as he twirled it. Once it was wand sized, he handed it over to
the wizard with a look that promised death if it was mishandled. The wizard carefully set it in the dish and the instrument vibrated before producing another
slip.
"Thirteen inches, macassar ebony with a core of dragon's blood, a gryphon's feather, and gargoyle tears. Age unknown." said the wizard.
"The wand had been in my family for over seven hundred years." said Adam "It always bonds with the first born son." The wizard seemed to accept his
explanation and returned the wand before impaling the slip. With a twirl, the wand was once again a cane.
"For disciplinary hearings, you want to go to level two." said the wizard "Tell the secretary why you're there and you'll be directed to the proper office."
"Thank you." said Adam before taking Clio's hand and guiding her away from the security desk. They walked the nearest lift that wasn't overcrowded and
got on, Adam never once letting go of her hand. He pulled her in front of him as several more witches and wizards got onto the lift and placed his hand on
her shoulder, his grip firm enough to keep her from being yanked away by the crowd as they moved from floor to floor. Then finally...
'Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration
Services.' said a cool female voice. Adam steered Clio out of the lift and over to a frazzled looking woman seated behind a desk. After a polite inquiry, they
were told that they needed to be down in Courtroom Ten in ten minutes and the woman gave them directions after Adam gave her a charming smile and a
well placed compliment. They returned to the lift and went as far down as it would go before following the woman's directions to Courtroom Ten, arriving
with just two minutes to spare. Adam took to the shadows as soon as they entered and Clio was directed to sit in the chair in the center of the room.
"Very well." said Cornelius Fudge once Clio was seated "The accused being present, let us begin. Are you ready?"
"Yes sir." said an eager voice that Clio recognized as belonging to Percy Weasley. Clio took a soft calming breath as Fudge began to speak again.
"Disciplinary hearing on the twelfth of August," said Fudge as Percy began to take notes "Into the offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable
Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Stature of Security by Clio Calliope Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging,
Surrey. Interrogators: Cornelius Fudge, Minister for 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..."
"Witness for the Defense," said Adam as he stepped out of the shadows to stand beside the chair Clio was seated in "Earl Adam Noah Millennium, Patriarch of
the House of Noah." Hushed whispers broke out amongst the members of the Wizengamot, some seemed frightened while others looked at the Earl in awe.
Fudge was wearing an annoyed look on his face but he was actually trembling slightly.
"Why are you here, Earl Millennium?" asked Fudge plainly.
"It's simple." said Adam as he conjured a chair and sat down elegantly "I am miss Potter's guardian, both magical and mundane, and have been since the
beginning of summer as per instructions left by the late Lord and Lady Potter. Now, why don't you please inform us as to why we were dragged all the way
to England on such short notice, Minister Fudge?" Fudge sputtered angrily before shuffling his notes.
"Very well then." he said stiffly as he extracted a piece of parchment and took deep breath before continuing "The charges against the accused are as follows:
That she did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of her actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic
on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past
nine, which constitutes an offense under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of
the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy. You are Clio Calliope Potter of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?"
"Yes." said Clio "But..." She was cut off by Fudge.
"You received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?" he asked coldly.
"Yes, but..." said Clio, only to be cut off again. She could sense the Earl's ire rising at Fudge's rude behavior.
"And yet you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?" said Fudge.
"No." said Clio.
"What?" asked Fudge.
"No, I did not conjure a Patronus on the night of August second." said Clio as calmly as possible while her irritation clearly showed on her face "Nor was I
anywhere near Little Whinging or England for that matter on the second of August."
"Miss Potter has not been in England since guardianship was passed to me." said the Earl coldly before Fudge could utter a word "I know for a fact that miss
Potter was in the home of one of the members of the Family of Noah on the night of August the second. She was there not only with myself but with
seven other members of my family as well." he tilted his head, his amber eyes narrowing "So you see, this 'hearing' isn't the least bit legal because of that,
especially since Clio was emancipated last year."
"I would've know if such a thing happened." scoffed Fudge "And I never signed off on any paperwork for such a thing."
"Ah, but there is where you are wrong, minister." said Adam as he pulled out some papers "Last year, miss Potter was forced to participate in
the Tri-Wizard tournament due to the binding magical contract connected to the drawing of names from the Goblet of Fire. The contract could have been
voided if all three headmasters and the judges had decided that the contract was void due to tampering with the Goblet of Fire and the drawing would've had
to been redone but it was decided that miss Potter would participate. Since the Tri-wizard tournament is an of age competition and three headmasters and
the tournament judges allowed her to participate, miss Potter legally became an adult in the eyes of magic." he ignored Fudge's sputtering "Now, minister
Fudge, would you like to continue this mockery of a trial for offenses that never occurred and continue to embarrass yourself and your government or would
you rather drop the charges and allow us to leave because I'm dearly hoping that you chose the first one because I know that I won't be able to hold my
temper back much longer for the attacks you have launched on this young woman, who is betrothed to a member of my family. And I take any attack
against my family as an attack against myself. Remember that." Since Fudge didn't seem inclined to answer after several moments, Madam Amelia Bones
did for him.
"All charges will be dropped." said Madam Bones "You and your ward are free to leave."
"I thank you Madam Bones." said Adam with a tip of his head before standing. Clio stood as well and quickly followed Adam out of Courtroom Ten as the
Wizengamot dispersed, most of the members sending dark looks towards Fudge.
"I'm proud of you, little one." said Adam as they walked towards the lift "You did rather well. I was half expecting you to yell when he cut you off the second
time."
"And I was half expecting the room to be coated in blood after the first five minutes." said Clio "Especially with how angry you were and still are."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of having lived for centuries." said Adam "You learn restraint... and creative revenge techniques."
"What did you do?" asked Clio.
"Let's just say they might not like their new colorations tomorrow morning." he replied with a grin. Clio gave an exasperated sigh while wondering just
who was supposed to be the mature person in their relationship.