Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Again This chapter was written by both myself and Coastalfirebird, so it is only fair that he still gets acknowledges for the parts he wrote.
Greengrass Manor
The next day, the Greengrass family, Harry, and Remus were sitting at the table having breakfast, when they were interrupted by the morning post owl flying through the window. The owl dropped the paper off and then flew back out of the house.
Clyde unrolled the paper. He took a sip of his tea before spiting it out after reading the headlines.
BOY-WHO-LIVED: SAVIOR OF MAGICAL BRITIAN OR NEXT DARK LORD
By Rita Skeeter
Yesterday in the trial of Peter Patrick Pettigrew, Lord Harry James Potter used his position as the Peverell heir to change the sentence of the Death Eater and betrayer of the Potters. Originally the traitor had been given life in Azkaban. However, in a dramatic turn of events Lord Potter used his power to deliver the death penalty instead. The Boy-Who-Lived showed no emotion in condemning Mr Pettigrew to the worst type of death: ordering for Mr Pettigrew to be Kissed immediately by a Dementor. He then went and issued a warning to the crowd that, "Anyone who acts against my house or my vassals will be showed no mercy." One must ask, loyal readers, what is Lord Potter's agenda? To remove all traces of the past Dark Lord, or to make sure no one stands in his way when he himself becomes the next Dark Lord?
LORD SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT AFTER TEN YEAR IIMPRISONMENT
By Rita Skeeter
Lord Sirius Black was found not guilty after his imprisonment ten years ago. According to a source, the headmaster at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, and Barty Crouch Sr. hid details of Lord Black's innocence from the world. One must ask: if you represent the light, then how could one imprison an innocent man without a trial? According to an inside sources; the time in Azkaban had made Lord Black infertile, so he cannot produce an heir. But don't panic people! Rumors are that Lord Black has named his godson, Lord Harry James Potter, heir to the Founders of Hogwarts and the Peverell family, as his own heir; which begs the question: with Lord Potter having so much power: who will have the power to stand up to him in the future?
Clyde threw the paper on the table, 'How dare they make out Harry to be the next Dark Lord.' Harry picked up the discarded paper and started to read it; by the end of it, his eyes were flashing green. Raw magic whipped around him. He turned to his Uncle asking, "How much of the Prophet do you own?"
Clyde looked at Harry and smirked, "Ten percent, why do you ask, Harry?"
Harry gave his uncle an even more devious smile. He was not going to take this laying down. "I want you to arrange for me to have forty five percent. That way, between us, we control over half. We then can keep this rubbish from the populous." Harry rubbed his chin as he read the second article once more. "I am also most curious about how Skeeter learnt that Sirius had made me his heir. Only Sirius, Daphne, Remus, and I were in the office when the paperwork was signed."
Clyde leaned back in his chair in deep thought. "That is something to worry about, Harry. When we have control over the Prophet, we'll interview her and make her tell us how this was done. It's either that, or she will be looking for another job," Clyde stood up. "Now, if you excuse me, I have some floo calls to make."
Harry and Daphne also excused themselves and walked out into the garden. They were followed by Astoria. Harry took a running jump and concentrated on his new phoenix form, and then he opened his eyes. Harry looked down at himself and blinked. His belly was completely white, but his wings were pitch black, the same as his huge tail feathers. Harry thought the colours worked very well especially when he considered himself a grey wizard. He then took to the air and noticed his wings were engulfed in a black flame. He circled the Greengrass estate before landing gracefully on Daphne's shoulder. He tucked his wings in and nuzzled her cheek.
Daphne stroked Harry's head and listened as Harry began to sing; the sound was soothing and comforting to Daphne and Astoria. All of a sudden, they were interrupted by another phoenix flashing in. Harry took up a defensive stance in front of her. However, he soon lowered his guard as he recognized the other phoenix.
"Greetings, young one, I mean you no harm. I wish to claim sanctuary. My former master has strayed too far down the path of darkness for me to continue to be bonded with him. I understand you already are bonded to a basilisk. I wish for you to allow me to bond as well."
Harry leapt off Daphne's shoulder and transformed back into human form. He placed a finger under Fawkes' beak. The phoenix pecked his finger, enough to draw a few drops of blood. Suddenly Fawkes vanished then reappeared on his shoulder.
"Thank you, young master. From this day forward until your final breath, I will be bonded to you."
Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, looking at the paper in front of him. Lord Potter had to be stopped before he ruined everything. Executing a Death Eater had not been on his list of things that classified the "Greater Good". The fact that it was a pureblood being executed scared the "Leader of the Light" to death. Everything was spiralling out of control. Even his hold on the Weasley family had loosened. Now he was being accused of hiding evidence regarding Sirius Black's innocence. Of course the paper was right, but he didn't want to admit it. What was most nerve-racking was the Potter brat being the heir to yet another Ancient and Noble house.
Dumbledore huffed, "Honestly that brat has more titles than me!" Dumbledore looked towards the perch by his desk. Fawkes had been gone several days now. Even after being called, he failed to show up. The fire glowed green before Madame Bones head appeared.
"Albus, your hearing will be tomorrow. The entire Wizengamot will be in attendance. I, for one, can't wait for the wolves to rip you apart."
Dumbledore watched the flames die down. He picked up the nearest thing and threw it across his office. However his face went white as a sheet when he heard the deep voice of Death say "Check!"
"What's wrong, Albus? You look a little pale." The smile on Amelia's face only made Albus a bit jittery.
"Nothing, Madam Bones, and I will be at the Ministry when it opens." Albus tried to smile.
"You better be."
As Madam Bones stepped into the Floo, Albus could hear Death once again. "One more day."
Greengrass Manor
Harry was sitting there going over his notes about the Philosopher's Stone one more time. The Elixir of Life required that a common blood replenishing or other healing potion be poured over the stone, and he was hoping that the cure to Lycanthropy would work the same way with Wolfsbane. Harry took out his cauldron and placed the Philosopher's Stone within it. He took a vial of Wolfsbane and uncorked it. The light blue smoke wafted into his nose and, if the smell was any indication, the substance probably didn't taste too good. Harry watched as the stone absorbed the liquid and then started dispensing a liquid that gave off a dark blue smoke. Once the cauldron was full, he started ladling out the substance into clean vials. By the time he was done, he had extracted the equivalent of three gallons worth of true Wolfsbane from his cauldron.
Harry took one of the vials downstairs. As he rounded the corner he saw Sirius, Irene, Nymphadora, and Remus sitting around the table chatting with Clyde and Martha. Irene was sitting in Sirius's lap, messing with his hair, while Tonks was staring at Remus almost obsessively. His aunt and uncle were laughing at something that Sirius or Remus must have said, but he wouldn't put it past Irene to say something that would do the same.
"Remus, I have something for you," Harry said, holding up the vial.
"Is that my Wolfsbane, Harry?" the old Marauder asked with a raised eyebrow
"More like something better." The old werewolf tilted his head to the side. "I poured the Wolfsbane over the Philosopher's Stone, and this is what came out."
"Harry, don't joke like that," Tonks snapped.
"He's not joking, Tonks." The now redheaded Auror glared at Martha. "Nicholas Flamel gave Harry the stone on Christmas Eve."
"What!" was the response from everyone who did not know what had happened.
"Harry extracted the stone from Hogwarts where Headmaster Dumbledore placed it to lure Voldemort out of hiding."
"And he just gave it to Harry?" Sirius asked.
"Yes. It seems the Flamel children were not of good moral fiber. And he didn't really want to destroy the thing, so he gave it to me," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just did with Wolfsbane what is done to certain potions to create the Elixir of Life."
Remus took the vial out of Harry's had gingerly. He looked upon the substance like it was the blood of the divine. He sniffed the substance and recoiled a bit. He started drinking the potion as fast as he could. Once he was done Remus dropped the vial to the floor as he collapsed to his knees. Tonks rushed to his side. The other occupants of the room just smiled at the smitten girl's reaction to the man's reaction to the enhanced potion.
"Are you alright, Remus?" Tonks asked in a low voice.
"I think so, but I don't know if this cured me or simply made more lucid during the change." Remus said looking into her eyes.
"Well, we will know in a week, but what are we going to do tomorrow about Dumbledore?" Irene said with a predatory grin on her face.
"Well, Sirius is already testifying. I say we get Hermione in on it as well since he tried to read her mind on Halloween," Daphne said as she rounded the corner.
"Good idea, Daph," Harry said as he kissed her gently on the lips. "I also think there are some men from the Ministry that are turning on him to save their own skins."
"I will write to the Grangers to see if she is willing to testify, and if so, go and pick her up. I am sure you kids wouldn't mind acting your age every once in a while." Clyde grinned at the children.
"DAD!" Daphne whined.
"Uncle!" Harry sighed.
Ministry of Magic - Courtroom Ten
Albus Dumbledore sat in the most uncomfortable chair within the Wizengamot anyone could find themselves in: the defendant's chair. With Conley's departure, he had to find himself another solicitor, and the only one that would take him as a client was a man he would rather not associate with. Daniel Stevenson was well known for his work on freeing "innocent" men like Lucius Malfoy from an unjust system. His latest success was the young Draco. Apparently the young lad had tried to apparate unsuccessfully back to Hogwarts. Albus sighed at the thought of Mr Malfoy being denied the right to go to the school of his choice because of young Lord Potter.
The banging of a gavel snapped Albus out of his thoughts.
"Is the prosecution ready?" Minister Fudge asked.
"Yes, Minister, we are," Madam Conley said in a smooth silken voice.
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are charged with false accusation against an Ancient and Noble family, the false imprisonment of a Lord of the court, and the use of magic against a minor. How do you plead?" Albus was almost overjoyed for the last charge. He feared that Potter would not bring his Occlumency into the public forum.
"My client pleads not guilty to all charges, Your Honor."
"Then you may present your first witness." Albus wanted to growl at the new Chief Warlock. Amos Diggory had been such a good friend until the Potter and Greengrass rebellion.
"Our first witness is Harris Shepard," Madam Conley called out.
Albus' head snapped to the entrance to the courtroom. A familiar stubby man was walking towards the witness chair. He looked sympathetically at Albus, but the old man held only scorn for the man now. Once he was seated the questioning began.
"What is your name?" Irene asked.
"Harris Michael Shepard."
"What is your connection to Professor Dumbledore?"
"I have done things for him over the years after graduating Hogwarts." Harris was looking at the ground at this point.
"What kind of things, Mr Shepard?" Irene's smile grew almost predatory.
"I would get information for him in regards to certain people, ma'am."
"Did he ask you to get information on anyone during the latter part of 1991?"
"Yes, he asked me to do a background check on both Clyde and Martha Greengrass." He was looking at the Chief Warlock at this point.
"Do you know why he wanted this information?" Amos asked.
"No, sir, I did not. At the time I thought he was doing the right thing, but the more I looked into it; the more I realized he was grasping at straws."
"Did he tell you his reasoning?" asked Madam Bones.
"No, ma'am."
"The prosecution has no further questions," Madam Conley took her seat.
Stevenson stood up. His thin figure, black hair slicked back, and dark eyes did not make him look any better than a used broom salesmen. And just like a used broom salesman when he talked to you, you wanted to double check your pockets.
"Mr Shepard, you said that you were looking into the Greengrass family. Is that correct?"
"Yes, sir, I-"
"So you were illegally checking into an Ancient and Noble family's personal files?"
"Yes, but-"
"Do you honestly think that the Headmaster would want someone to break such an ancient law for no good reason?" The smile on Stevenson's face was creepy.
"No, sir, but-"
"Sir, you were the one looking into the files, not the Professor." Albus wanted to smile as Harris' face darkened in anger.
"I TOLD THE COURT THAT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE WANTED ME TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE GREENGRASS FAMILY HAD COMMITED ANY SERIOUS CRIMES!" Harris' voice boomed around the room.
Amos banged the gavel. "Mr Stevenson, is there a point to this line of questioning?"
"I am just trying to prove that my client was not the one to breach the ancient laws, Your Honor." The smile on the man's face was alluring and filled with deceit.
"I believe that has already been established. If there are no further questions…"
"I have none, Your Honor."
"Then the witness is free to leave."
As Harris left the courtroom, Irene stood up. "The next witness is Lord Sirius Black."
"Objection, Lord Black is a biased witness!" Stevenson screamed.
"That he may be, but he is also one of the reasons your client is on trial." Irene said with a smile.
"This coming from the woman who represented my client for the last ten years," Stevenon's seethed.
Minister Fudge banged his gavel. "Enough! Lord Black is a material witness."
As Sirius entered the courtroom, Albus could hear a few whispers of people who were still deathly afraid of the man. Once the usual question about name and date of birth were asked, the questioning began.
"Lord Black, what happened on October 1st, 1981?" Irene's voice was now markedly softer. Albus felt Daniel elbow him lightly in the ribs at this point.
"That is the day the Fidelius charm was placed on the Potter residence in Godric's Hollow."
"Who placed that charm?"
"Albus Dumbledore."
"And the secret-keeper was?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
"How do you know this?"
"I was there."
"Okay, then what happened on November 1st, 1981?"
"I went after Peter for his betrayal of our friends to You-Know-Who." Albus knew Black was saying this to avoid scaring those in the courtroom.
"No further questions." Madam Conley sat down.
"Lord Black, were you not in a relationship with Madam Conley in your youth?" Stevenson asked with a sneer.
"I fail to see where that is any of your business." Sirius said through gritted teeth.
"Well, it might be if she had something other than a sense of justice during your previous hearing."
"OBJECTION!" Irene screamed.
"Sustained, Mr Stevenson, Peter Pettigrew confessed to his crimes, and thus you suspicions are baseless." Minister Fudge said calmly.
Daniel held his hands up in defeat. "No further questions then."
"Our next witness is Hermione Granger." Irene spoke up to the court.
Albus' head snapped to the opening doors. The bushy haired girl walked into the courtroom. Albus started to sweat just a little knowing full well what she was here to testify about. Daniel looked at Albus with both disgust and worry. He didn't want to know what the man was thinking about, but it couldn't have been good.
Stevenson leaned over to him. "What did you do?"
"I did nothing to her, Daniel. I have no idea why she is here." He was trying to calculate how best to deal with this new threat.
"What is your name?" Madame Bones queried.
"Hermione Jean Granger, ma'am," Hermione, like always, spoke with grace and kindness.
"When were you born?"
"19th of September 1979."
"What happened on the 31st of October 1991?" Madam Conley asked kindly.
Hermione's face remained impassive as she began her tale. "I was in the girl's lavatory crying because of something that another student had said. I was there until dinner time when Harry Potter came and banged on the door. He said that there was a troll loose in the dungeons, and that I should get back to Gryffindor common room." She quivered just a bit as she said the next part. "The next thing I know the troll is in the same hallway as us, and Harry…"
"That's Lord Potter, young lady." Lucius Malfoy said in a patronizing tone.
"She is a friend of mine and may address me as she sees fit, Mr Malfoy." Harry seethed at the older man.
"Of course, my lord," the court started whispering at the ice held in Malfoy's response.
"Continue, Miss Granger." Amos Diggory said with a smile.
"Well, Harry then used a very powerful blasting hex to destroy the creature's throat." There was an even bigger clamor in the courtroom. It took several minutes for the room to go silent. "At that point, I passed out due to shock. The next thing I know I am waking up in the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey hovering over me, and the headmaster was a few meters off pacing back and forth."
"Then what happened, Hermione?" The prosecutor asked this in a soft motherly voice.
"Well, the headmaster started asking me questions, and I could feel this pressure being applied to my head, and the memories of what happened seemed to get clearer."
The courtroom erupted. Parents were screaming for his execution, Madam Bones looked murderous, and Amos looked disgusted. This went on for twenty minutes. Once order had finally been restored the headmaster looked back to the visitors section to see Harry, the Davis family, Remus Lupin. 'Why was he even here?' Albus wondered
"Do you know what this was, Miss Granger?" Fudge asked curiously.
"Yes, Minister Fudge, I do. I went to thank Harry for his help the next day, and he then asked if I was okay. I told him about what happened, and he told about Legilmency, and I didn't particularly like the idea of anyone trying to break into to my mind. I asked if there was a defense, and he agreed to teach me Occlumency."
"Are you proficient in it now, Miss Granger?" Irene asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"And after this, did someone try to do this to you again?" Irene asked.
"Yes, ma'am. Once again by Professor Dumbledore, and once by Professor Snape, although I think that was under the orders of Professor Dumbledore as the two of them talked right after the class period that it happened in."
"No further question, Miss Granger."
Albus could feel the eyes of the entire court on him at that moment.
"I have no questions for this witness." Daniel looked stunned. Albus couldn't blame him. How could he question a child without looking like the world's biggest arse?
Harry looked over to his aunt, Remus, and Tonks. They were all smiling at the look of dread on the old man's face. Harry had a plan should things not go the way he hoped. In the end, Dumbledore would lose his hereditary seat, and it would probably be given to him. If it that did happen he was going to pass the title onto Hermione. He already had too many names attached to his already, so he could do without the addition of another one. The odds that she descended from Hector Dagworth-Granger were quite high, and his titles remained unclaimed. In fact, if there was a fuss caused by some members of the court, he would have a public blood test done on Hermione, if she was willing, and if he was right, that would lift her status from Muggleborn to half-blood by decent.
The banging of the gavel snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Does the defense have any witnesses?"
"No, your Honor. However, Professor Dumbledore wishes to make a statement," the sleazy solicitor gestured to the headmaster.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, and to our esteemed guests in the public box, I would like to stress that while some of the things I have done seem ill-minded, I stress to you their importance." Harry could hear a murmur spread throughout courtroom. He almost laughed at Dumbledore's jab at him and his friends. "I must also state that my age does play a small part in the mistakes that I have made. I was unable to see the changes happening around me while I dealt with serious problems throughout these last ten years. I ask that you also take my service to the community into consideration. I dealt with one of the greatest threats to our community in over a hundred years and then again just over two decades ago. I will take the punishment for the ill-use of magic on Miss Granger, but I had no idea Sirius was not as mentally unstable as I had assumed. Thank you for your time."
Harry wanted to hand the man a shovel. He wanted to kiss Daphne right there and then. When she had told the group yesterday that Hermione should be part of the trial, he had his doubts, but after seeing the results; he couldn't agree more. Her testimony had thrown the old man off balance. His speech was laughable, and the defense he tried to put on made Dumbledore look as bad as the Dark Lord he helped put down.
"Thank you, Professor." Amos Diggory looked disappointed with the old man. "Well, I see no reason in putting this off. All those in favor of guilty for charge of false imprisonment of a Lord of the court?" More three fourths of the voting court raised their wands. "And all of those in favor of not guilty?" Not even a tenth of those who didn't vote raised their wands.
"For the charge of false accusation against and the invasion of privacy of an Ancient and Noble family: all those in favor of guilty?" This time two thirds of the votes were for guilty. "And all of those in favor of not guilty?" No wands were raised.
"And for the final charge of use of magic against a minor: all those in favor of guilty?" A staggering ninety percent of the courts' wands were raised. Harry could hear a woman behind him say she wished she could vote. "And all those in favor of not guilty?" No wands were raised.
"But how is this POSSIBLE?" Dumbledore screamed.
"That is enough out of you, former Lord Dumbledore. In accordance to the ancient laws for the first offence, you are hereby stripped of land and title." There was applause in the room. "The title is to be given to the offended family."
Harry took this moment to stand up. "Chief Warlock Diggory, if I may." Harry could feel Dumbledore's eyes burning a hole in his forehead.
"Yes, Lord Potter, what is it?" The man seemed more amused than annoyed.
"If Lord Greengrass is willing, I would like to suggest that the title be passed to Lady Granger." There was another explosion in the courtroom this time mainly from the dark families. Harry could also hear Hermione trying to stammer out a response.
"And why is that, Lord Potter?" Minister Fudge asked.
"Given her last name, I believe she may be the last heir to the Dagworth-Granger line, and as such, would be the most offended party in this entire thing." The silence after that statement was priceless. He looked over to his Uncle Clyde, and the man was smiling a devilish smile.
"Does the Greengrass family have any problems with this action?" Minister Fudge asked.
"No, Minister, we don't, and we will be willing to oversee Lady Granger's blood test if she is willing to take one."
Harry looked over to Hermione who was stunned speechless. A gentle nudge from Tracey who was smiling like the Cheshire cat snapped her out of her stupor. Hermione look at him for assistance, and he just nodded. He whispered, "Take the offer."
"I accept the offer." At that moment, Tracey threw herself at Hermione wrapping the girl in a tight hug. Harry was beginning to wonder about those two.
"Well then, I will be the officiating member of this esteemed body," Lucius Malfoy said.
"No, you won't, Lucius. I will." All heads turned to the Chief Warlock. "As you have never officially held an office in the Ministry, you are not qualified for that honor." He brought down his gavel ending the matter. "Seeing as you were a Lord at the time, and your service to our community, for the last two offences this court here by sentences you to six months in confinement in Azkaban, consecutively. You will retain the job of headmaster upon your release. There will be no parole, and gods willing, you won't see the light of day as a free man for those six months."
Harry was wondering why he was given such a light sentence. However before Harry could protest the gavel was banged down. Meaning he could no longer overturn the verdict. He looked to Dumbledore and noticed he looked relieved. Harry growled, how could they allow him to keep his position as Headmaster, after being found guilty of reading Hermione's thoughts? It seem the only good thing that had come out of this case, was that Hermione had gained Dumbledore's titles, and that she could be a potential heir to a lost line. Harry watched as Dumbledore was escorted out of the court room. His eyes flashed green, before leaving his seat to follow the rest of his family outside.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. A Big thank you to my Beta and Proof reader. HowlnMadHowie, who has helped making this story better then the original.