Thank you purplepanda357, Boneslover247, & CAG7 for adding TB&C to their story alerts or favorites. Also, thank you Kat & ruth hammond for reviewing the previous chapter. I'm glad you all are more patient than the woman lying right next to me at the moment. She's lucky I love her anyway. Also, I wanted to warn you all that I won't be updating much after today for the rest of the week. I'll be busy and away from my computer, so bear with me here. Anywho, here's your chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't have kids. I didn't grow up in England. Therefore, there's no way I am J.K. Sorry... :) Oh...and I'm not blonde!

Annabelle stared intensely at her professor, who looked uncharacteristically nervous at that moment. "What is it, Minerva? Did something happen?"

Minerva chuckled and shook her head. "Always the perceptive little one, aren't you, lass?" The child simply shrugged, so Minerva continued. "I received a letter early last week from the Ministry of Magic pertaining to your case. The Ministry set a court date, but I don't think it's going to go over as smoothly as we had hoped. You see, they want you to attend, and they wouldn't ask you to be there if they didn't have a good reason. I'm afraid they might want you to testify."

All the blood drained out of Annabelle's face as she stared at her professor in horror. How could she possibly testify? Was her father going to be there? Her mother? How could she do it if they were? Would she have to stand in front of the whole room? Surely, Minerva wouldn't let them do that to her, right? Right?

Minerva noticed that her daughter was quickly becoming distressed and decided to intervene. She moved to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Hey, kitten, you're okay. You're a lion. There's no reason to be afraid."

Annabelle had begun to relax into her mentor's embrace, but stopped short at her last comment. She jerkily pulled away. "There's nothing for you to be afraid of! You're not the one who has to testify that her parents beat her!" Glaring at her professor, she got up and stormed to her room, not caring that she heard Minerva calling to her from behind.

Slamming the door behind her, Annabelle collapsed on the bed and sighed, hastily wiping at her tears. That was stupid. She had taken her anger out on the one person who loved her, but that didn't matter now. Annabelle couldn't go back down there. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the door, "Colloportus." She knew that if Minerva really wanted in, it probably wouldn't even take her wand. She probably wouldn't even have to say, "Alohomora," to unlock it. However, it would get the point across, and Annabelle hoped that Minerva wouldn't barge in if it was locked.

Turning back to her bed, she came face to face with identical forest green eyes. "What do you want Sylvia?" The cat simply mewled and began to rub against her shoulder lovingly. Sighing, Annabelle figured that the cat was probably just hungry since she left the common room before she ate her breakfast. Annabelle walked over to her food bowl and placed a scoop of cat food into it.

As she suspected, Sylvanna immediately stopped mewling and sprinted over to the bowl. The cat ate everything before sauntering over to the bed, hopping up, and curling into a ball to go to sleep.

Annabelle stood perfectly silent for a minute, but then realized that she was supposed to be writing Ginny tonight. "I guess now's as good a time as ever."

Annabelle sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of black ink.

Ginny,

Should she tell Ginny about the court case? Should she tell her about what she said to Minerva? Ginny would understand, right? Was it normal for daughters to yell at their mothers or was Annabelle simply proving that she was unfit to be a daughter? Sighing, she shoved the parchment away and laid her head on the desk. Was it her fault that her dad hit her? Was it because she wasn't a good daughter?

Downstairs, Minerva didn't know what to do. Should she follow Annabelle upstairs? Or should she just let her cool off on her own time and talk to her about this later? She rubbed her temples and sat back down, wincing at the pain that was quickly spreading throughout her skull. "Albus…" The wizard immediately walked through the door, holding two mugs and looking incredibly sheepish. Minerva figured he had been listening in. She looked up at him, her eyes portraying the hurt she felt. "What do I do? I knew that testifying would probably scare her, but I figured the court case might be enough to make it worth it."

Albus smiled. "Give her time, Tabby. Though, I'm sure some lemon drops wouldn't hurt either." Minerva's eyebrows shot into her hair and Albus chuckled. "It seems she's taken a liking to them."

Minerva shook her head. You could trust Albus to sneak your children sweets. She still couldn't believe that he, Poppy, and Ro had been sneaking Quidditch lessons with the child. How could they keep these things from her? "I'll wait a couple more minutes, but I'm going in prepared." Grinning at his utterly confused expression, she lifted a hand into the air, as if to catch something. "Accio lemon drops." As she suspected, a bag flew out of the kitchen and into her hand. Remarkably, it was practically full.

Now that she knew what she was going to do, she felt comfortable sitting and drinking her tea. She lifted her cup to her mouth, but quickly pulled it away as the smell was off. Albus was one of the few people she'd willingly take a drink from without testing it first, so the smell was definitely unwelcome. She glanced over to him and cleared her throat. Once she had his attention she simply darted her gaze pointedly at the mug before looking back to him.

Albus frowned, making his jolly outfit seem very misplaced. He had actually thought that she had stopped freaking out about what was put in her drinks, but he supposed he couldn't blame her. The wars had certainly not been kind to her, and he considered one of them his fault, even if he did end it. "It's a minor pain relief potion, dear. I figured you'd probably have a growing headache after your little dispute, so I put some in your drink. At least I didn't put syrup in it again, right dear?"

Minerva rolled her eyes, but appreciatively took a drink. He had never put syrup in her drinks. The man always seemed to be able to lighten the mood, though, and so she was eternally grateful. After a couple more sips, her headache was long gone and she glanced over to him again. "Just warn me next time. I can be a good patient, no matter what Poppy may say." She finished her drink and decided it was time to head upstairs and check on Belle. She grabbed the lemon drops from the table and made her way upstairs and knocked on the door. "Kitten, may I come in?"

Annabelle was half asleep by now, still sitting at the desk. By now, she didn't care that Minerva might be mad at her. She almost expected and hoped for it. It's what she deserved, right? "Yes. Sure." She called.

Minerva moved to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge. Without thinking twice, she simply waved her hand at the knob and heard it click as it unlocked itself. She walked in and was met with the sight of Annabelle slumped over at her desk, looking absolutely dreadful. Was this her fault? Should she have waited to tell her, or maybe told her more gently? She moved towards her daughter and laid the lemon drops on the desk, taking notice of the discarded parchment. "Belle, honey, what's wrong?" As angry as Annabelle had seemed when she stormed upstairs, Minerva hadn't thought she was thoroughly upset.

Annabelle refused to look at her. This had to be a trick. There was no other way to describe what she was doing. It couldn't be real. "Why aren't you mad at me?" She didn't mean to sound as snippy as she did, but now that it was out there was no taking it back.

Minerva sighed. "Belle, I'm not mad at you for being upset. It's okay to be upset about the court case. I didn't mean to belittle your fears."

Annabelle huffed. Right. She didn't mean to call her a coward? "Well, you did. It's too late to take it back now."

Raising an eyebrow, Minerva inched closer to her daughter. This was not like her at all. What had gotten into her today? "Kitten, I think we have another issue here that doesn't pertain to the fear of you testifying. However, I wasn't trying to say that you couldn't be afraid of testifying. I'm saying you don't need to be afraid because I will protect you. I promised you that you would never ever have to go back there, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Annabelle still didn't want to believe her, but she nodded anyway. She was actually making sense.

"I'm here to stay, kitten. We've already discussed this. You're mo chroí, and I can't live without you. Don't you understand that?" She reached out to gently turn the chair to make Annabelle face her and cupped her cheek. "Belle, I love you. I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to trust me when I say that, Belle." Minerva felt like she was breaking through some sort of hellacious barrier as she spoke those words. She meant them though. She loved her so much and it only seemed to grow each and every day.

Annabelle sighed against Minerva's hands and let her tears begin to fall. She understood, but she was scared. No matter what Minerva said about not needing to fear, she was still afraid. She wanted to trust Minerva. She really did, but in Annabelle's mind, that required actually admitting that you love them, and she still wasn't ready to cross that threshold. She was ready to talk about the case though. "Will I have to talk in front of them? Will they see me?"

Minerva wordlessly and wandlessly cast a weightless spell on Annabelle and scooped her shaking figure into her arms. "I'm afraid so, kitten, but I promise, I'll be right there. All you have to do is look at me if you're afraid. I'll be your strength. I'll be your courage. After all, I'm a lion too and I'll gladly be the one to defend you."

Annabelle was glad to be in Minerva's warm embrace, but didn't know what to think otherwise. "Will they be allowed to talk to me?" It was a huge fear of hers.

"Certainly not while you're testifying, but we can't control what they say when they testify. You can cover your ears at any point you'd like, though silencing spells aren't allowed during the trial. I'd place one around you if you wanted me to if they were allowed." Minerva couldn't help but think that she didn't want them to see her any more than Annabelle wanted to see them. It was going to take all of her self-control to keep from hexing them the moment they stepped into the room. If it wasn't for the fact that she promised to protect Annabelle, she'd contemplate handing over her wand again. "If you're worried I won't be able to protect you all by myself, we can have a whole team on your side. If you want, we can write to Poppy, Rolanda, and Pomona right now." She gestured toward the desk. "You can also finish your letter to Ginerva while enjoying your treat from Albus. He said you like them."

"Can we? I mean, can we write them all letters?" Suddenly, she felt nervous about the whole situation, including sitting in her mentor's lap. She slowly stood up, but felt extremely odd without any weight. She felt unsteady, but at the same time, she figured it'd be difficult for her to fall.

Minerva noticed the girl's peculiar expressions and stood beside her, ready to steady her. "Becoming weightless is easy, Belle. It's going back that becomes a little bit more difficult. It might sound backwards, but you may feel a little lightheaded when I reverse the spell, so I think it'd be better if you sit down." The younger witch obliged and Minerva came around behind her, and placed a hand on her shoulder before reversing the spell.

Annabelle's head seemed to spin and she dropped her chin as she clamped her eyes shut. A little lightheaded was an understatement. Her stomach lurched, and for a moment, she was afraid that she was going to pass out. However, the feeling faded after a couple of painstaking moments and Annabelle slowly looked up to her mentor who was smiling patiently.

"Better?" The child nodded and Minerva's smile grew. She conjured another chair and sat down next to her daughter. "Would you like me to write the letters to Poppy, Pomona, and Rolanda?"

Annabelle shrugged. "Sure. My parchment is in the bag by your feet." Annabelle picked up her quill and pulled the letter to Ginny back to in front of her.

Ginny,

I travelled by floo today to get back home, and by home, I mean Minerva's manor. McGonagall manor is so huge, just like I told you before. It turns out, this could really become my home soon. They set the court date, but I think Minerva told me what day it is. She and I sort of got in an argument. Well, she told me I might have to testify, and so I yelled at her. Ginny, I'm scared. What will happen if she doesn't win? She promised I don't have to go back, but what if she loses? What will I do? Do you think your mum would let you come to the hearing? I think I'd like to have you there with me if you can come. Please ask her for me. I'll write you with the date later.

-Annabelle

Meanwhile, Minerva was writing her own letter to her friends.

Poppy, Pomona, & Ro,

Annabelle and I decided it might be best if we have company during the hearing. We think they're going to have Annabelle testify, and that's going to be excruciatingly hard on her. I also don't know if I can trust myself to keep my temper under control. You know me. Anyway, it's set for July 9th at 11am. Please let me know if you'll be able to come.

-Min

Minerva magically duplicated the letter and called out the window for Theodore. It took a moment, but soon enough, Minerva saw a black dot growing larger as Theo flew toward them and onto Minerva's arm. She handed it the letters, which she had addressed to each woman and lightly pet his head. Glancing to Annabelle, she noticed that the child had placed her quill back on the desk. "Are you ready to send your letter to Ginerva?"

Annabelle glanced between the letter and Theo a couple of times. She then folded it up and placed it in a small envelope, labeling it, 'Ginny Weasley.' She handed it to Theo and grinned as the owl took all four envelopes in its mouth and flew off. Annabelle decided she likes owls better when they couldn't make noise, which meant she liked them when they were carrying letters in their mouth.

Minerva enjoyed watching her cub as she sent her letter to her friend. "So, kitten, how about you and I go downstairs and get something for dinner. I'm sure Albus is getting tired of being abandoned by us, yes?"