Title: Truth behind the name and the lies P.2
Pairing: DracoxHarry,
Fandom : HP
Notes: An abused boy finds out he's a wizard and a hero; his tormented mind rebels. One person sees through the misconceptions to the real Harry and treats him the way he deserves. How does this change them both and those around them? Please read P.1 otherwise you maybe confused…
This story will vary more so then Part 1 did from Sorcerer's stone. I had some comments that they were too similiar- was still wary of how much to drift from the canon then.
Beautiful Storm Dancer-
D': - it is sad...
Lone-Angel-1992-
'wow i can't believe you updated so soon, i love the story.'- I got inspired? Glad you are liking it. Pt2 is seeming more dark them Chamber of Secrets...
elfdemon05-
'Tonk's mother is so like Neville's grandmother.' - Honestly? She isn't meant to be. I see Andromeda Tonks nee Black as a very strong woman raised to wealth and priviledge much like Draco was. She threw everything away for someone she loved. Through a strange turn of events she has mended her relationship with Narcissa yet resents she owes her return to her right place as the eldest free member of the Ancient house of Black to Lucius. Lucius who was a Death Eater along with Bellatrix, Regulus and sadly, Sirius. Therefore she owes a percieved debt to the Lord Malfoy, though she is grateful to have Narcissa back and perhaps meeting Draco - I think. Due to Sirius' apparent betrayal and subsequent imprisonment, she as Head of the House of Black is therefore the guardian of Sirius' estate which according to the imprisioned man's will belongs to Harry. Meaning legally, he should be her ward.
Chapter 6- First Battle for Harry
August 12th, 1991
"My dear Andromeda. How lovely to see you again. Congratulations. I heard you've made amends with your sister Narcissa and you are now the Head of the house of Black."
Andromeda strode past Headmaster Dumbledore, into the court room acknowledging neither his words nor his presence.
"Mistress Black. How wonderful to see you dear. I wish the circumstances were far different." came a voice from the center of the room.
"Madam Bones, what brings you here…" Andromeda held out her hand in greeting after recognizing the voice.
"I was told by Minister Fudge to handle this case quietly. How is Ted? I remember him fondly from Hufflepuff." Amelia Bones, head of the Magical Law Enforcement and a Member of the Wizengamot shook her hand.
"If it is in your hands Madam Bones, I trust it will be dealt with fairly and honestly." Andromeda.
"The law is the law, yet it is the welfare of a child that is at stake. The Boy-Who-Lived no less. It is no tall order." Amelia nodded.
"Shall we begin then? Wouldn't want anyone to think I was trying to influence you."
"Slytherin you maybe Andromeda but you know I take my work seriously." Amelia raised an eyebrow in a shock.
"Of course."
"Court is now in session. Madam Bones in Session. The House of Black vs. Vernon and Petunia Dursleys."
"Very well. State your case." Amelia said, sitting back and waiting to see how this would play out."
"Antony Montague for the House of Black, Madam Bones. On July 31 of this year twelve year old Harry Potter was delivered to St. Mungos' Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries by his worried friends Hermione Granger, George and Fred Weasley. He was admitted and treated at the request of Mistress Black who had been told he may have been injured."
"Injured? That ruddy useless boy was punished for being disobedient. I refuse to acknowledge this farce of a trial. I demand we be released." Vernon Dursley thundered.
"Barrister Mathews control your client."
"Can't Madam. They ignore me." a very unlucky barrister replied.
"Very well. Mr. Dursley, you have a choice. Either sit down and be quiet or…I'll let Lord Malfoy who no doubt wants to go and announce in the Leaky Cauldron that you injured Harry Potter. Trust me. There would be a riot on my hands. Personally I would let the trial proceed. When it is your turn to speak you may tell me all you like about the Potter boy. Now, Barrister Montague you were speaking." Amelia turned to the barrister after leaving Vernon Dursley sputtering.
"As I was saying before the Muggle interrupted me, young Harry Potter was admitted to St. Mungos' on July 31st. Healer Stewart attended to him."
"Healer Stewart may address the court." Amelia conceded.
The healer took the seat in the center of the room.
"Healer Stewart, please inform the court what you found when you treated young Mr. Potter." barrister Montague ordered.
"When I saw young Mr. Potter he had lost a lot of blood, Madam Bone. He had four cracked ribs, three broken ribs, his hands were shattered, and he was suffering from severe malnutrition. Mr. Potter had a nearly punctured lung, bruised kidneys and a severe concussion. His back had been lashed down nearly to the bone. The record from his last healer reached me not long before I actually saw the patient. His poor nutrition is apparently a pre-existing condition. He has scars and broken bones from previous injuries that appear to be very old." the healer replied.
"We weren't even sure at first if he will wake at all. He had fallen into a coma and his magic was falling rapidly." Healer Stewart seemed to admit reluctantly, "The best we could do was fill him with potions and hope they would work. A simple Episkey wouldn't heal his hands, Madam Bones, they have been badly broken before and left untreated. He will be lucky if he can heal properly, how a twelve year old can recover from this type of trauma I don't know. It wouldn't be the first time he's suffered trauma and his magic collapsed- according to his records it happened back in late May as well." Healer Stewart finished.
"I see. Healer Stewart. Those are the same findings you submitted before."
"Yes Madam Bones."
"Barrister Montague, who do you wish to speak before the court."
"Auror Jack Nickerson."
"What would be his purpose before the court."
"To report his findings about the search of the Dursley home."
"Very well he may speak."
"Auror Nickerson, would you please tell the court about your search."
"Of course." the man seemed quite proud, "There was little sign the Boy-Who-Lived resided there. We found traces of human urine and signs of former habitation in a cupboard beneath the stairs. The door to said cupboard had been ripped off its hinges. There were traces of blood from the kitchen upstairs to the smallest bedroom. There were splashes all over the cupboards in the kitchen and a blood pool on the floor."
"Lies. Madam, I've have you know I keep a clean house." Petunia Dursley attempted to look both prim and insulted.
A young proud angry voice yelled, "Yes, one Harry cleans for you. You treat that boy lower then a house elf you hag."
"Young Master Malfoy, as righteous as you feel your comments are you should know better then to interrupt a witness." Madam Bones gently chided him. "Now Auror Nickerson, pardon the interruption and continue."
"Yes Madam. The room that appeared to belong to Harry Potter was small, barely furnished with broken or damaged items. The windows were bared like it was a cell. Normal people don't keep a kid that way. Much less one like the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Normal indeed? What would you freaks know about normal."
"Excuse me Mr. Dursley. My dear Madam Bones, what is the purpose of this whole affair…" Dumbledore asked, annoyed with the whole thing.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, you know procedure. Better then most I expect. Do us a favor and please wait your turn."
"Madam Bones, I have a school to run. I can't hang about on the Wizengamot's whims."
Amelia stormed to her feet, "Whims? You think this whole trial is a whim? This is a very serious case."
"Really? The Plaintiff is not the Ministry but the returned House of Black, who is no doubt being influenced by the House of Malfoy. This is merely an attempt to undermine us and blacken the characters of innocent people."
Auror Nickerson yelled, "Innocent? If one of them had been a Squib and they'd done what they've done to any magical child in their care I'd want them stripped of everything and their names nationwide as nearly equal to a Death Eater."
Amelia stiffened, "Bad the Dursleys maybe. It is yet to be proven to the court. Besides, abuse of children is a terrible crime but perhaps not quite as terrible as murder. Headmaster, you will be polite and sit down at once. This trial is not a farce or a whim. I resent the implication that a person such as myself would be viewed in such a manner. Barrister Montague, please tell me you have another witness."
"I do Madam Bones. They have requested permission to glamour their voice and their face for their own protection but are willing to allow only yourself to learn of their identity."
"Highly unusual but I shall allow it."
"I request Amicus Curia to come to the floor."
There was the sound of limping, and the scraping of a staff.
A gravely voice spoke, "I am Amicus. I have come to speak on behalf of Harry Potter."
"Who are you to him." Barrister Montague asked.
"Once upon a time I knew his mother. I speak as one broken child for another."
"What is you wish to do here."
"To show to the court how lasting such abuse can be."
Barrister Montague turned to the presider, "Madam Bones."
"Very well."
"I would prefer weak women and children not be present for this."
"Yes indeed. Women and children in the gallery should be temporarily excluded for the duration of this witness."
The was some scuffling.
"You may continue Amicus Curia."
"Thank you Madam Bones." the stranger spoke.
Lucius recognized the broken body of his friend Severus Snape who stood, hidden well behind his facial and vocal glamours before he dropped his robe.
Severus stood there in very short shorts, his every scar laid bare, "It is easy to dismiss a piece of paper. But can you dismiss these…" he turned limping, "I have had my fingers smashed, my hands shattered, my arms broken, my joints dislocated, I was burned, cut, whipped, stabbed and beaten. For what purpose? I don't know. No child deserves this. I wouldn't even with this…on You-Know-You. There was a time I wanted my tormentors dead but I was never foolish enough to do such a thing."
Andromeda had been informed about the identity of this witness but had not been expecting them to be this horrific. She had never guessed her future brother in law's little pet had such a terrible life when they were students together.
Amelia was struck dumb, "Merlin. Monstrous. Healer Stewart tell me…how Amicus Curia's wounds compare to young Mr. Potter's."
"At a glance? Most scars are decades old. That one is newer, well treated." he pointed to one thigh, "it is the only treated wound I can see. They bare similar injuries." the healer ran his wand over the man, "his ribs show signs they have been broken and healed abruptly. Their hands have both been smashed. They have been beaten and burned, I would say if Mr. Potter is released back to the Dursleys…it is quite possibly if he doesn't die young…he'll end up in a similar state. Do you have much strength in those arms, sir."
"No. I've tried Potions and spells to do something with them. They fused too strongly that rebreaking them…was foolish. When a student is not allowed to cast magic during breaks you can't deal with any injuries properly."
"Why did you never see a healer." Amelia asked gently.
"I'm a man. We're not weak. I didn't want this to be public knowledge that I was been treated this way. I was disliked by many and had few friends. The friends I made most were of the wrong sort. You make foolish choices when you are young and angry at the world. Not all of us have a Ministry career to throw ourselves into, Madam Bones."
"You are a strange man Amicus Curia."
"Yes, Madam Bones I am. Though I can not carry anything without help of charms or house elves I fought in the War. I saw the error of my ways and fought against the Death Eaters. I became a Potions Master. I've tutored some rather powerful young witches and wizards. This boy, I don't want him to be like me. I want him to learn that there are good people out there. That he doesn't deserve this. He is a child and he deserves a little happiness and not fear."
"Amicus Curia. You have intrigued me. You are excusing from testifying. I want you to come to my box and speak with me."
Reluctantly, Severus Snape gestured, his robe returning to his body and he slowly made his way to Madam Bones' seat in the courtroom.
"You will truly tell me you identity."
Severus nodded, "just a moment." he cast his own privacy jinx that filled the rest of the court with a buzzing sensation in their ears. "I wanted to ensure our privacy. I will unglamour my voice. It should be enough. There are people here I wish not to know I have spoken."
"That will suffice."
"Very well," the vocal glamour disappeared. "My name is Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House and Potions Professor."
"What! I know you! You went to school with us. I remember you spent a lot of time with Lily Evans before you started hanging out more with future Death Eaters." Amelia Bones, veteran of the Order of the Phoenix, Head of Magical Law Enforcement and Member of the Wizengamot was shocked.
"I have not been a nice person. I had secrets to keep. It is best if I distance myself as best I can from this. Dumbledore is the one who kept me out of Azkaban and let me teach. I cannot truly alienate him now. Yet for the sake of that little boy who reminds me so much of myself so much younger I had to do what I could no matter how unorthodox." Severus admitted reluctantly, "now…I must go before he suspects. He is still angry about the End of Term Feast and now this."
"Susan mentioned the Feast but I wasn't sure how much fact there was." Amelia conceded
"He will not take this well. Please. Balance the evidence. I hope you will decide Andromeda gets custody of Harry." Severus recast the vocal glamour and hobbled away dispelling his privacy charm.
Amelia took a few breathes to recover from her shock, "Barrister Montague do you have anymore witnesses for me."
"Yes. Mind Healer Timothy Zane."
"Timothy Zane? I see."
"Yes, we thought it best to have the boy examined by a Mind Healer other then Mistress Black's husband."
"Very wise indeed. Mind Healer Zane may speak."
"Madam Bones." a youthful looking young man with laughing eyes took a seat in the witness seat.
"Tell me Mind Healer about young Mr. Potter."
"He is a bright young man, yet shy. He has a few friends, Ms. Hermione Granger, Young Mr. Draco Malfoy and the Weasley twin Fred and George. He is extremely close to Master Draco. Mr. Potter refused to speak with me without him. Interviews with those close to him indicate he rarely gets angry unless he feels a friend has been offended. He is rather tiny for a twelve-year-old Madam Bones, if it weren't for his scar I'd say he wasn't older then eight maybe nine. He has severe issues with self-worth, refuses to speak about what happens at his aunt and uncle's. Yet I've observed the boy have nightmares, and scream in pain. Haunting…I used a dream globe a few times, rather awful things. Most were of him being attacked by the great neckless man over there."
"Do you have the dream globe, Mind Healer Zane…"
"Yes Madam, you may peruse it at your convenience." a small orb levitated and floated to her. "It is the original. I duplicated it for Mistress Black. You are welcome to test it for tampering."
"A dream globe is being entered into Evidence? What? This is ridiculous? What is this? The Salem Witch Trails? We're not Muggles…" Dumbledore thundered.
"Headmaster Dumbledore. Would you please be quiet? I did not say I would accept it was evidence that may influence my verdict. I said that I might look at it. I really would hate to put a person such as yourself in contempt. I am trying to run an orderly courtroom." she turned back to the Healer, "You have not been informed by Mr. Potter about mistreatment by the Dursleys."
"He tenses up and buries his face in Young Master Draco's shirt. Between his injuries and his current behavior I would state he is afraid to confront his attackers."
"I see." Amelia checked her timepiece, "It seems that this first stage of testimony has taken until three. We began at ten. I am adjourning until tomorrow at ten. The Dursleys will stay at the Ministry's guesthouse. They are after all witness at this trial. Yes Headmaster I expect you as well. You have been entered into documentation as a hostile witness."
"Madam Bones." Dumbledore hissed, the twinkle long gone from his eyes.
"But Headmaster, you know about trials. They can take as sort or as long as they have too. For the sake of the Wizarding World I am taking this case seriously. The reason the Ministry is not filing a case is merely because Mistress Black filed first and suits such as her's can be sealed. A case such as this would fall under the Freedom of Information act of 1983. It would do little good if the Dursleys are proved to have abused our Savior and the entire Wizarding world found out. They would want your head, Fudge's and whoever else they can blame. A case this volatile can not just be swept under the rug on your word it's a whim." Amelia stood gathered her papers, "Court will resume tomorrow at ten in the morning. I expect all plaintiffs and defendants to be here."