Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Hey all! Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews! Believe me, I love Adelina too. I adored creating her and found it terribly tragic to kill her, but it was part of Sirius's story. I agree with the reviewer which said that if she'd survived, Sirius wouldn't have gone after Peter. After all, she would have probably gotten him to think straight.

Okay, here comes the chapter which I'm sure you've all been waiting for.

By the way, I know that in this chapter, Dolores Umbridge is not Fudge's undersecretary, but yes, you will be seeing her, for she will become undersecretary fifth year. I just decided not to give Harry any more heartache concerning the trial, because we all know what Umbridge is like.

Anyway, on with the chappie!

Chapter 31: Vernon Dursley's Trial

As December progressed, the weather became quite chilly. Hogwarts got its first snow, and it blanketed the ground in all its white glory. People were starting to talk about the Christmas holidays and what they would be doing. The Yule Ball was still a common topic of discussion, and the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang seemed to be settling into Hogwarts life more and more.

Harry and his friends were also preparing for this time. They also continued to have meetings with the Slytherins, which were overall going extremely well. Of course, Hermione, being Hermione, had made the badges by now, so many Slytherins walked around the halls wearing them, especially the younger ones. Draco Malfoy was as vicious as ever, and his comments grew more and more cruel. But he was all talk and no action, and Harry and his group of friends were becoming extremely sick of him.

Cedric and Cho continued to show their big brotherly-sisterly support to Harry whenever they could. Ron still acted somewhat weird around Harry and Ginny, and Hermione sometimes acted as though they were fragile because of the things that had happened to them. Harry and Ginny tried to act as normally as possible, assuring her that they were fine and they just wanted her to behave as she usually would. Neville seemed to get it, though; there was no change in how he acted around them.

On the morning of December 16, Harry woke up with dread coursing through his entire body. Today was the day of Vernon Dursley's trial. The thing that would scare him more than ever was looking into his uncle's awful, sneering face again. He'd also have to see Aunt Petunia and Dudley. There was no doubt in his mind that Aunt Marge would be there, too, in support of her brother.

The night before, Harry and Ginny had gone to the Room of Requirement just to spend some private time together. He needed her comfort more than ever, and Ginny could sense that. That was one of the things he loved about her; she was very perceptive. Ron, of course, gave her an extremely hard time about it, but the fiery redhead was able to fix that problem by performing the bat-bogey hex on him. Ron had been so furious that he stormed off once Ginny had removed it, tossing these words over his shoulder: "Fine, fine, have it your way, but if I've heard about any funny business between you two ..." But Ginny, being extremely quick with her spellwork, flung a Silencing Charm at him. Ron ran off, probably to ask Hermione to remove it. Harry expressed his surprise over Ginny's spunkiness, and she just said, "Oh, the things I can do now that I have a wand! Why is Ron so irritating?"

It seemed like the therapy sessions were really helping her. Some days, she was still very quiet and depressed, but she was getting some of that fiery spirit back. Fred and George snorted with laughter every time they saw her at it again, and she just winked at them. She was never rude or bitchy, though; she didn't just hex people for the heck of it. She was just trying to tell Ron that she could take care of herself, thank you very much.

Today, the plan would be that Harry would go to the Room of Requirement to eat breakfast with Sirius and Remus. The rumor mill around the Great Hall would be that he was ill and would be taking the day off. Harry had worried that someone might go to visit him in the hospital wing, but Madame Pomfrey had assured his two guardians that she would put a lump in one of the beds to make it look like Harry was sleeping in it. And anyway, the friends whom Harry spent any real time with knew what was really going on.

A few minutes after he'd arrived in the room, Sirius and Remus came in. Both their faces were concerned as they gazed at their adopted son. They ate breakfast mostly in silence, knowing that Harry really didn't feel like talking. All three of them just wanted to get this trial over and done with.

Finally, Harry asked, "Where is the trial taking place?"

"It's at the Ministry of Magic," said Remus quietly.

"The Ministry?" Harry asked, alarmed. "How is anyone going to keep it a secret if it's there?"

"Don't worry," Sirius soothed. "They're holding it in a place where they barely hold trials anymore. It's down in Courtroom Ten, where they held the Death Eater trials after the First War. Now they hold trials on a different floor. So people will just assume, if they see us going there, that we're going to that floor because we want to find something else. See, there are other things on the same floor as the courtroom."

"But what will people say when they see Harry Potter walking into the Ministry? I'm not just any old boy. I'm famous," he said bitterly.

"We know, cub," Remus said, ruffling Harry's hair. "Most people who work at the Ministry all come in at the same time, and we're going later than they'll come in. So the lobby will practically be empty. The only one who will see us is the guard, and he knows about the trial. But we have his word that he won't tell anyone about it. Also, as I told you before, the jury is bound by oath not to say anything."

"Okay," said Harry, but his heart was still heavy. To have jurors know something this personal about the famous Boy-Who-Lived's life was not something he wanted to consider, but knew it had to happen for his uncle to be put to justice.

xxx

The three portkeyed to the Ministry of Magic, right into the lobby. They would usually have to go in by the visitor's entrance, but since the guard knew they were all coming, he had given Sirius a portkey yesterday when he'd stopped in to verify.

Harry had never seen the Ministry of Magic before. He took great interest in the Fountain of Magical Brethren, which contained statues of a goblin, centaur, and house-elf. It also contained golden statues of a witch and a wizard. Harry thought of Hermione and S.P.E.W. He hoped things in the wizarding world could change, that prejudice and bigotry would be stopped. Professor Binns might drone on and on about the goblin rebellions and have everyone bored to tears, but Hermione had said that those who didn't pay attention to history were doomed to repeat it. Harry found a lot of truth in what she said.

Harry, Sirius, and Remus got badges which stated why they were here, and Eric, the guard, registered their wands. Then they went to the elevator. As they moved to their destination, the elevator told them what was on each floor they passed. Now Harry's stomach was roiling, and he would have usually shown interest in what was on these floors, but he hardly paid attention since he was so wracked with nerves.

Once they arrived, Sirius and Remus led Harry down many different hallways. The walk seemed to go very fast, for they had arrived before they knew it. They were standing in front of a door which said, COURTROOM TEN, on it in big black letters.

"Are you ready, Harry?" asked Sirius concernedly. He and Remus each put an arm around him.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Harry.

"We'll be right there with you," promised Remus. "We're not going anywhere."

They opened the door and walked into the courtroom. Several people were there already: Fudge, the Minister was there. He had also sworn by magical oath that he would keep this business quiet. Fortunately, no reporters from any newspapers were in the room. The jurors were sitting in chairs next to one another. Harry could also see Aunt Petunia and Dudley there, looking pale and drawn. Aunt Marge was there too, looking the same as always. As Harry and his guardians came in, she gave him the most hateful glare she had ever given him. Kingsley must have told her about the magical world and made her swear not to tell. She was just like Aunt Petunia in the way that she would probably never tell, but still have even more of a reason to call Harry a "freak" now that she knew he was a wizard.

Dumbledore was also there, sitting in a seat. There was also another familiar face which Harry was shocked to see. Mrs. Figg! Mrs. Figg? Harry thought in confusion. How on Earth had Shacklebolt come in contact with her? She couldn't be a witch, could she? Was she bound to secrecy to not reveal any information about the magical world?

However, there was no sign of Uncle Vernon. "The dementors must be bringing him," Remus whispered when Harry asked where the man was. He felt a shiver go up his spine. Vernon Dursley was a horrible person, but why did dementors have to bring him in?

He saw that there was a chair in the middle of the room which had chains attached to it. He realized that that was where Uncle Vernon would sit. Harry, Remus and Sirius all sat down in three more chairs. All they had to do now was wait.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened again, and a fierce coldness swept through the room. Harry shivered, and Remus and Sirius laid comforting hands on his shoulders. There were two dementors coming in, and they were guiding a terrified but furious-looking Uncle Vernon. They led him to the chair, and the fat man sat down, the chains binding themselves to him. In his seat, Harry started to tremble. Just seeing him brought all the bad memories to the surface. Remus and Sirius helped to transfigure the three chairs into a bench, and they all sat as close together as they could. "It's okay Harry, we won't let him hurt you," they promised as Harry leaned on them.

Fudge then stood in front of the court, and began. "We are here," he said, "to begin the trial of Vernon Richard Dursley. He is being accused by Harry James Potter of the crimes of animal cruelty and physical abuse." A pleasant-looking woman with brown, curly hair sitting to his right was writing everything he said down, just to keep a record. Fudge then asked the two lawyers representing the defense and the prosecution to come forward.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the first to give his speech. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said formally, "I am here today to show you that a young boy has been treated horribly at the place he called home for many years. For the first eleven years of his life he was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs."

Harry's mind wandered back to his therapy sessions. He had been very reluctant, but he'd let his guardians use that information as more evidence to throw Uncle Vernon in prison. He didn't want to make his aunt get in trouble too, but they had told him that if she hadn't abused him, she wouldn't be thrown in prison. However, the magical equivalent of Child Services would probably come to check that Dudley was being treated right.

"And," Kingsley continued, "he was then, reluctantly I might add, given the smallest bedroom in the house. He was given very little food and drink, and was very unhappy. Home should be a safe place that one longs to come back to, but this was not the case for Harry Potter. When Vernon Dursley learned in June that Mr. Potter was going to live with his newly exonerated godfather, Sirius Black, and Black's best friend, Remus Lupin, things changed for the worse. This is the reason we are all here today, to prove that this boy was handled by a man that should have had no right to take care of any child. You will hear the evidence against him, and you will hear people try to defend him. But I will show you that the only place he belongs is in prison." Harry knew that if Vernon was convicted, he would be held at the Ministry, for the Azkaban wards were still being worked on.

Mr. Epinski, Vernon's lawyer, then stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen," he started. Harry grew nervous about what he was going to say, but his guardians' reassuring presence got him to relax a little. "You heard from Mr. Shacklebolt. Now I am here to show you that Vernon Dursley is just an ordinary family man. What this boy has said was probably to get attention, for his parents unfortunately died when he was young, so he has had no mother or father to look up to. Vernon informed me that Mr. Potter had no friends in his childhood, for he has always been a troublemaker. This is just another way for him to become more famous in our world than he already is. His pleas for this not to get around to the rest of the wizarding population are just a ruse. I am here to show you that Vernon Dursley is innocent of all the charges placed upon him."

Sirius's face was furious. He looked like he was about to jump out of his chair and give Mr. Epinski a good punch. But somehow, he kept himself in check; after all, this was no time to be going out of his head.

"For my first witness," Shacklebolt said in his deep voice, "I call Arabella Figg to the stand."

Mrs. Figg got up and walked over to the witness stand, sitting in the chair. "Please state your name for the court," Shacklebolt said.

"Arabella Doreen Figg."

"And at what address do you live?"

"7, Privet Drive."

"And what is your relationship with the defendant?"

"Albus Dumbledore put me in charge of looking out for Harry's best interests. I'm a squib, so I know about the magical world. He felt it was important that someone be near Harry's home just to check that things were going alright."

Wow! Harry thought in shock, feeling a little betrayed. Mrs. Figg knew all along about the magical world and hadn't told him!

"Did you notice any problems over the years while Harry was living at number 4?"

"Well, there were some days when I noticed that Harry wasn't very happy. I knew he didn't have many friends, but just put it down to him being a shy boy. I thought that the loss of his parents had really affected him."

"Did you know he lived in a cupboard?"

"No, I had no idea."

"How often did you see him?"

"I used to be his babysitter whenever the Dursleys went out."

"Did you babysit their son, too?"

"OBJECTION!" called Mr. Epinski. "That question is not necessary!"

"But I'm leading to something," argued Shacklebolt.

"Overruled," said Fudge. "Answer the question, Mrs. Figg."

"Yes, but not as often as I did Mr. Potter."

"Did you ever ask the Dursleys why they took their son out more than Mr. Potter?"

"No. I just assumed that because of his personality, he didn't want to go."

"No further questions," said Shacklebolt, his face expressionless. Mr. Epinski then started asking his questions. He looked smugly at Shacklebolt as he did.

"So is it true that you saw no problems with Mr. Potter's treatment?"

Mrs. Figg looked uncomfortable. "I noticed his unhappiness, but other than that, nothing."

The man continued to ask questions about Harry's upbringing, with Mrs. Figg repeating over and over again that she had seen no signs of abuse. She did admit, however, that he looked a little underfed at times, but again she told the room that Petunia insisted on the fact that Harry wasn't a hungry person.

"What a pathetic woman," Sirius muttered under his breath. "Bet she wouldn't know abuse if it bit her on the ass." Remus gave him a warning look, and Harry silently pleaded for him to not show himself up.

Mr. Epinski then called Aunt Marge to the stand. He asked her a lot of questions, and the woman assured everyone that she had seen no foul play in how the Dursleys had treated him. She reiterated the fact many times that he was always a "nasty little brat", she'd been able to see that since he'd come to stay with the Dursleys. Harry's skin burned with anger as he remembered all the horrible things she'd said about his parents. According to her, James Potter had been an unemployed, lazy layabout, and Lily Potter had been a bitch who had something wrong with her pup.

When it was Shacklebolt's turn, he faced Marge and said, "You claim Mr. Potter's always liked to get attention. Has he ever done anything to bother you?"

"Well, the little scoundrel's always spoken back to me, under the impression that he'll always get what he wants. He needs to learn that life doesn't work that way. If Vernon had to drill it into him, I say good for him!" Sirius growled low in his throat at those words. Harry glared at Marge, wanting to say a million things to the red-faced woman.

With each question Kingsley asked, Marge grew more and more hysterical with her claims. But it was when she started talking about the Potters that things started to head in a bad direction.

"Always knew that boy was just like his freaky parents," she sneered. "Now that I found out what you all are, I should have known it all along! Wizards, my ass! What kind of freak show is this? It is unnatural, it is Satanic! No wonder Lily and James Potter landed themselves early graves! They deserved it, the freaks!"

Sirius jumped out of his chair. "HOW DARE YOU!" he snarled. "HOW ..."

"SIRIUS, SIT DOWN!" Harry and Remus cried. There was buzzing all around the courtroom, and even Shacklebolt looked angry at Marge's outburst. Sirius was almost purple with rage, and the jury, who weren't supposed to show how they felt, looked disgusted.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Fudge boomed. "Sit down, Mr. Black, or I will have to ask you to leave the courtroom!" Reluctantly, Sirius sat back down, still quivering with anger. Remus looked angry too, but was trying to keep himself calm for his companions' sake.

"Well," said Kingsley, "I have no further questions."

Now it was Remus's turn to be called to the stand. Sirius gently guided Harry out of the room at this point; it had been decided that neither of them would be present when Remus showed the memory of the abuse. It would make Sirius too angry, and Harry too upset. The memory would be shown twice, once from Remus's mind and once from Sirius's, to try to prove that the memory hadn't been tampered with. Sirius had already taken the memory out of his mind and put it into a glass vial. So godfather and godson walked out of the room.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Sirius asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry mumbled.

"Is that always what your pathetic Aunt Marge was like?" Sirius asked, barely keeping the fury out of his voice.

"Yeah," Harry admitted.

"Well done for blowing her up, then!" Sirius spat.

"I didn't mean to," said Harry, "it just happened. Her memory was modified so she doesn't remember that incident. She probably would have brought it up if she had."

"Yeah. I'm so sorry," Sirius said, holding Harry close. "I'm sorry this had to happen. You know you'll be asked to talk soon. Remember, we have a calming potion for you to take before you go up to the stand. Will you be all right?"

"Just don't leave," Harry begged, clinging on to his godfather.

"I won't go anywhere, pup. I promise. I'm also sorry I didn't handle myself earlier; I just can't take bad things being said about Lily and James. It just reopens old wounds."

"I know, Siri. But you mustn't take what Aunt Marge says to heart. She's always been like that."

"I know."

Eventually, the courtroom door opened, and Remus beckoned them back in. The expressions on some of the jurors' faces were shocked and disgusted. Others looked shaken.

Dudley was called to the stand next. He didn't say much to either of the men, but told everyone that he had seen nothing untoward in the Dursley household and been shocked by Vernon's arrest. He said that if his dad had done what these wizards said he had, then he should go to prison. Harry was surprised to hear that coming from Dudley, a boy who took the greatest pleasure in causing others pain. Maybe he drew a line somewhere, though. But it was still hard to buy. He looked as stupid as ever, his big, fat face bulging as he spoke. Harry wondered how much weight the boy could gain over six months. It was amazing!

Mr. Epinski announced that Aunt Petunia was next to speak. When she was asked about Harry living in the cupboard, this was her answer.

"Vernon made me do it!" she said in a pleading voice. "I admit, I didn't like the boy much, but Vernon told me he was dangerous and that he needed to be taught some discipline!"

"So your form of discipline is putting him in a cupboard?" It was currently Shacklebolt's turn to be asking questions, so it was his deep, booming voice Aunt Petunia's pitiful begging responded to.

"Vernon wouldn't see sense!" she cried.

After she was done came the hardest part. Shacklebolt said, "I now call Harry Potter to the stand."

Harry slowly got off the bench, his guardians looking at him with promises in their eyes that it would all be over soon. He tried to give them a shaky smile and walked up to the stand. Shacklebolt handed him a calming potion, and Harry gratefully drank it. Instantly, he felt better about getting through this. He was still horribly jittery about seeing his uncle purple with rage just at the sight of his nephew, but wasn't quite as nervous as before.

After he had stated his name for the record, he was asked to describe his home life. He went into detail about being placed in the cupboard, having no friends at school, and if anyone did try to befriend him, they were beaten up by Dudley and the members of his gang.

"What happened at the end of your third year at Hogwarts?" Kingsley asked.

"I came home, and I thought everything would be normal. But the morning after my return, I was told to go to the cupboard. I was kind of surprised because I hadn't been there for years."

"Then what happened?" Kingsley prompted.

"I was made to stay there all day, except when I was making meals for the family. Then, the following night, Uncle Vernon came home drunk. He had kept accusing me of doing some kind of "freaky" magic to get him unemployed, and that night, he started beating me up."

"In what way did he hurt you?"

"He hit me, punched me, kicked me. Told me I was a freak and a burden, useless and worthless. Said I should've died that night with my parents."

"Okay, thank you. What happened the night you were collected by your new guardians?"

Harry took a shaky breath. "As well as beating me up, he ... he killed my owl," he said, his eyes watering. "I tried to get him to stop, but there was nothing I could do. He strangled her." Harry wondered why Kingsley was asking these questions, since the memory of the events had already been shown. He guessed it was probably because there was some way that Pensieve memories could be tampered with.

By the time Harry had finished explaining everything, his eyes were overflowing with tears. No, no, no! he told himself. You've still got to be questioned by the cross-examiner!

Mr. Epinski stood up. He did everything he could to try to get around the abuse, trying to make Vernon blameless. He asked him how he felt about his parents' death, causing Kingsley to shout "Objection, that question is irrelevant!" and Fudge to sustain it, fortunately.

"Have you always disliked your uncle? How many times is this now that you have made up stories to get him in trouble?"

"I swear," Harry cried, his voice shaking, "I haven't!" A few tears rebelled against his wishes and fell down his face. He could blurrily see his guardians in their seats, Remus doing his best to calm Sirius, who had an expression on his face which told everyone how much he wanted to pound Mr. Epinski into the ground.

Harry was finally allowed to go back to his seat, and he was comforted by Remus and Sirius as he sobbed against them. This day was becoming too much for him. To be picked apart like that by Mr. Epinski had been horrible. Harry had a bitter thought that perhaps Epinski was in cahoots with Lord Voldemort.

"Vernon Dursley," Shacklebolt suddenly boomed, "it is now time for you to answer some questions. You will be required to take a truth potion, so we know if you are lying."

Harry exchanged glances with Sirius and Remus. He had been told this would probably happen. Usually, Veritaserum was banned from being used at court cases because wizards had antidotes for it. However, Muggles did not, so if a Muggle was being tried at wizard court, it would be used. Harry wished that it could be used on wizards, though, without the worry of there being an antidote. After all, if this was the case, Sirius would have been found innocent in 1981, and all this Dursley stuff never would have happened at all. In this way, Muggles had a much better chance of being punished for their crimes than wizards did.

"What?" Vernon blustered, his face going all different colors now. "I will do no such thing, you-you-you freak! I am not taking any of your idiotic potions!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice," Shacklebolt said. Vernon tried helplessly to get himself out of the chained chair, but he was bound too tightly. "I'm sorry I have to do this," Kingsley said, not sounding sympathetic at all. He marched up to Vernon. "Open your mouth," he ordered. Vernon did not comply.

"I said, open your mouth," he repeated. Vernon still did not do as he was told. "Very well," Shacklebolt said. "This is telling us you have something to hide." He used a spell which forcibly opened his mouth, just enough so that the big Auror could apply three drops of Veritaserum to Vernon's tongue. After a few seconds' wait, Shacklebolt spoke.

"Please state your name for the record."

"Vernon Richard Dursley," Vernon said, his eyes glassy and unfocused. Harry shook as he clung to Sirius and Remus. This was going to be another horrible part of the trial.

"What relation are you to the defendant?"

"I am the unnatural freak's uncle."

Shacklebolt ignored the spiteful comment. "Is it true that you forced your nephew to live in a cupboard under the stairs?"

"Yes, of course it is. I hated the boy, so did my wife. Granted, she never hurt him or anything, but we both hated him. I swore I'd stamp the unnaturalness out of him," he spat.

"Vernon, have you ever hit Harry?"

"Yes," Vernon said at once, even though Harry could see he was trying his hardest to fight the potion, but it was to no avail. "I did more than hit him. That freak deserved to learn his lesson. I punched the little bastard, hit him, kicked him, spat on him! He's worthless, he's a burden, he deserves to die! And then I murdered his owl right in front of him," he said, causing gasps to come from the crowd. "I knew he loved her. But I figured I might as well do what he's done in the past. He's a murderer too, did you know? Heard him screaming once in his room about killing some professor of his-Quigley or something."

Quirrell, Harry realized. He'd had a nightmare about Quirrell dying and it being his fault. He buried his face in Remus's robes. This was too much to handle. All of Vernon's taunts brought everything rushing back.

"That was an accident!" Sirius couldn't help but cry out. "Quirrell was evil! You don't know how things work in the wizarding world, you moron! Harry didn't mean to kill him!"

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Fudge shouted. "We know about the happenings of Quirrell."

"Yes, and you continue to excuse his bad behavior!" roared Uncle Vernon. "How many more people will you let this freak murder before you realize he's no good, or are you all murderers yourselves? You all deserve to burn in hell, you Satan-loving, devil-worshipping sadists!"

"Excuse me," boomed Shacklebolt, not being able to hide the anger on his face. "Getting back to the topic of what you've done, is there anything else you'd like to tell us?"

"Yes," said Vernon, his face full of glee. "Do you know what I was going to do to him if those two freaks he calls guardians hadn't come to save his sorry arse? I would've killed him! I had it all planned out, I was going to strangle him just like I did to his precious owl! Then the right life would have been taken, not the life of some innocent professor who was probably just telling him off!"

"That's quite enough," said Shacklebolt angrily. Harry could see that even Mr. Epinski was looking disgusted. Not a Voldemort supporter, then, Harry thought fleetingly through the fog in his mind. Dumbledore had fury all over his face; Harry had never, ever seen the Headmaster looking like that before. Sirius had jumped out of his seat again, and Harry could feel Remus shaking.

"YOU SONUVABITCH!" Sirius roared, filling the courtroom with his voice. "WASTES OF HUMAN FLESH LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO EXIST!" He made to go at Vernon, but Remus and Harry begged him to sit down. Harry's voice was full of sobs of desperation. Shacklebolt also walked over to Sirius and forcibly held him back. "Control yourself, Sirius," he said. "I understand you're angry, but you can't act like this in court." He kept his hands firmly on Sirius's shoulders.

"Well, we have a confession," said Fudge. "And one of a murder he was going to commit. You know what happens when criminals confess. It is my right, as Minister of Magic, to convict you, Vernon Dursley, to life in prison. Take him away," he boomed, and the door opened, revealing the dementors. Vernon was released from the chair and led away. He glared ferociously at Harry as he left. "You'll get what's coming to you, boy," he snarled.

Sirius let out a pure scream of anger, and the bench he, Remus, and Harry were sitting on broke. Harry and Remus went tumbling to the floor, still holding on to each other. Sirius's anger was so huge that his accidental magic had kicked in. The man immediately looked shocked that this had happened. His heart was still pounding and his head was aching like it had just been run over by his motorcycle. Everyone else had gone silent at the display of magic and were slowly and shakily making their way out of the courtroom. Aunt Petunia and Dudley tried to go over to Harry, but Harry cried "No!" and Remus said in a barely controlled voice, "Get away from my son." The two Dursleys immediately scurried away.

"Come on, cub," Remus then said, his voice becoming gentle again as he spoke to Harry. "It's over now. Let's go home."

xxx

Minutes later, they found themselves at 804, Lawdershod Avenue, Hogsmeade. Remus had told Harry that he could be at home the rest of the day to recover, he didn't have to go back to Hogwarts until that evening. He and the werewolf sat down, Remus holding Harry as he sobbed in his arms. He was crying with pure relief but also with pure anguish after what he'd heard Vernon say. It had truly been a blessing that his guardians had come when they did; he'd have been dead otherwise.

Sirius followed a few minutes later, with Shacklebolt. The big Auror spoke to Harry kindly, reassuring him that Vernon was gone, there was no harm that could be done to Harry anymore. Then he left the family alone to have their private time.

The rest of the day was spent in a haze, with Sirius and Remus doing the best they could to comfort him. Harry didn't know how long he lay sobbing in both of their arms as they tenderly embraced him, or how long he slept afterwards. All he knew was that once he woke up, the one feeling that was prominent within him was pure, unadulterated relief that the trial was finally over. He tried his best not to think about how he would have been murdered; after all, that hadn't happened. He knew he'd probably have nightmares about it, however, but told himself that he'd cross that bridge when he came to it, although it would be far from easy. He even tried to stop Sirius from brooding over it, because there was no use in thinking about the "what could have beens." Sirius promised to try, and to release his anger where Harry couldn't see it. He was still absolutely livid, and had wanted to murder Vernon, but was finally coaxed into believing that life in prison would be worse than death for him. After all, you never knew what happened after death; it could be a way out of getting your punishment.

All of them were in shock after the day they'd just had, but the family knew they'd grown closer that day. His guardians kept watch over him, speaking in calm, reassuring, gentle voices. Whatever happened in the days to come, Harry knew Sirius and Remus would always be with him. Whether they were or weren't physically wasn't even the point; the point was he knew they'd always be there in spirit, helping him through everything. The ordeal today had been very trying, but the worst was over. A monster had been revealed for what he was, and now that he was no longer a threat, Harry's life could truly become better.