The Clave had been going in circle for hours, and they hadn't gotten anywhere at all. Alec was beginning to get restless, but he wasn't going to leave Magnus's side under any circumstance. He was certain that if he heard another Clave member give the same reason to not trust Asmodeus even one more time that he was going to scream.

The only reasoning most of them had for wanting Asmodeus dead was that he had been a Greater Demon, but most of them were even on the verge of admitting that if Asmodeus were still a Greater Demon that he would have already attacked everyone.

Alec was holding onto Magnus's hand, and he could feel how tense Magnus had become throughout trial. Just from Magnus's grip on his hand, Alec could tell just how much Magnus cared about getting his father back, but he was worried that the Clave wasn't going to let that happen.

As people started to get up, Alec jerked out of his thoughts, realizing that he hadn't been paying attention to anything that was happening. He quickly figured out that they had decided to further "deliberate" on the matter at hand. By this, Alec was sure that they most likely meant that they were going to further argue over what to do with Asmodeus.

At first, Alec thought he was just going to get up and take a walk, but as he saw his own father leave the room, he decided that he was going to have a talk of his own. For the past few hours, Robert had been gingerly straddling the fence, and Alec couldn't figure out what side he was on. He quickly explained to Magnus that he would be back soon and got up to follow his father.

Robert was clearly surprised when Alec opened the door and followed him into a side room he had snuck into. "Son, what are you doing in here?" was all that he said.

"I've been trying to figure out what your strategy is, Father. You're not taking a clear stance on this matter, and I'm trying to understand your thought process right now." For once, Alec stared his father down, not wavering an inch.

"Listen, Alexander, I have to do my job. And my job is to protect Shadowhunters. I cannot let him go free without worrying that he's going to hurt more people." Robert's voice was cold and hard, but Alec could hear the uncertainty in it, and he knew he had to quickly capitalize on that before it was too late.

"He saved us, Dad; he saved me. I know you don't want to believe it, it goes against everything we've ever know, trust me, I get that. But you have to trust me on this one, he's not what he once was, he's turning away from that."

For a moment, Alec thought his father was going to give, but then Robert answered, his voice growing colder with every syllable. "Then what do you suppose he is, Alexander? What would happen if you let him in your life and he hurt someone? What if he hurt Isabelle, or Jace? What if he hurt Magnus? What would you do then?"

Alec looked his father straight in the eye and kept his voice even as he responded. "I'm not sure what's happening, I'm going to admit that. What I do think is going on is that he's a warlock now. I'm not dumb, Father, I've done some research and everything I've found is that Greater Demons can't go back to being angels, but they can go back to something in between. That's what I think is happening here, and I'm not going to change my mind about it."

"I have to put a stop to this, Alexander. I know you don't understand, but when you have a family you will."

Robert simply looked at Alec for a moment, and it was obvious that he had nothing more to say, so Alec began again before anything could stop him. "Look, Father, if you do anything to Asmodeus, I will never forgive you. I had thought that our relationship was getting better, but I swear that if you hurt him, this will be the last time we ever speak."

When the Clave reconvened, things seemed to be in slow motion for Magnus. He couldn't really register anything that was happening, yet he couldn't make a move to stop any of it. He watched as Robert Lightwood stood up before the Clave saying, "My son seems to think that Asmodeus has become a warlock. For this reason, the Clave has decided that the punishment for his crimes against humanity will be forty lashes with an electrum whip."

Magnus watched as Alec stood up beside him and raised his voice loud enough for the entire room to hear him. "What you're saying is not that you're giving him forty lashes. You're sentencing him to death and you know it. Electrum to warlocks is like silver to werewolves, you have no intention of keeping him alive."

Robert quickly whirred on Alec, demanding that he sit down and remember his place, but Alec did just the opposite. He began walking toward the center of the room where they were keeping Asmodeus strapped to a chair, but Robert quickly ordered Asmodeus's whipping.

All Magnus could do was sit as he watched Alec sprint towards Asmodeus and threw his arm up to protect his face as he placed himself between Asmodeus and the whip that was quickly shooting toward him. Magnus barely registered Alec's cry of pain as the whip wrapped itself around his arm. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone seemed to register what was happening all at once.

The man holding the whip looked to Robert for direction. "Mr. Lightwood, what do you want me to do?"

Robert looked from the man to Alec, then stepped forward, speaking as loud and clear as possible. "If my son is stupid enough to accept this punishment himself, then either he needs to step aside or he had thirty-nine lashes to go."

Magnus's heart dropped as he saw Alec shake his head; he barely heard Alec say, "I'm not stepping away from him, Robert." Magnus shut his eyes as he saw Robert step forward. It was obvious that Robert was going to take over the situation himself, was going to take the whip and beat his own son.

Suddenly, Magnus heard a loud crash, and he knew from the tension he felt in the room that no one had been expecting it to happen. He opened his eyes to see Robert pinned against the wall opposite Alec, the whip laying on the floor between them. It was obvious that most people thought Asmodeus was behind this, but Magnus looked at his father and saw confusion in his eyes as well.

It was then that Magnus realized he had pinned Robert against the wall, he just hadn't been aware that he had used magic at all. Without thinking, he finally got up himself and walked to Robert instead of Alec.

Robert had a sickening smile on his face as Magnus came to stand before him. "Like father like son, right, Bane?"

"Watch your tongue, Robert. I may be like my father, but your son is nothing like you. He's already a thousand times the man you'll ever be."

That night, Magnus was immediately comforted when Alec relaxed into his arms. Catarina had met them at the Institute and had helped Magnus heal Alec, and they were finally sitting down to simply relax for the first time in a very long time.

Magnus was still trying to figure out how they had gotten out of the Clave alive. He had simply turned around announcing that he was taking Alec and his father home and that there would be no more discussion. Somehow, this had worked, and it seemed that everyone had wanted to keep away from Magnus at all costs.

"Magnus?" Alec's voice pulled him out of his flashbacks as he turned in Magnus's arms, a question clear in his eyes. "Why did you save me?"

Looking down at Alec, Magnus's heart filled with emotions that he rarely ever had. "For the same reason you were willing to save my father, Alexander. Because I love you."

His heart skipped a beat at the smile that filled Alec's face. "You love me, Magnus?" Magnus couldn't help but laugh. Alec looked so innocent, so young and full of life and joy that he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Of course I do, Alexander. I'd have to be an idiot not to." Magnus was caught off guard as Alec twisted all the way around and reached up to kiss him. As he felt himself melt into the kiss, he couldn't help but think that he had finally found his family.

Hi loves! Haley here! I just wanted to say thank you for sticking with me through this story! This is possibly my favorite fic I've written, but it was the most fun to write at the very least! Let me know what you thought of it, I always love to hear from you all! You can all come talk to me any time about anything, with prompts, suggestions, criticism, comments, literally anything!

Thanks again, and I love you all! xx