"They can't possibly be planning to arrest you! It was self-defense!" Hermione shouted. "Exactly! There were five Dementors there at the time! Now that we're on the subject, how the bloody hell did Dementors get to Muggle London?!" Ron asked. Mrs. Weasley's head snapped up, and she snapped on her son "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! WATCH YOUR TONGUE!" Ron immediately shut his mouth, and Harry just got up from the table, and walked to his room in misery. Hermione looked at Harry, and whispered "Poor Harry. I can't imagine how he feels. He has to go to a hearing on his birthday." Ron nodded his head in agreement, and watched as his best friend walked up to his room.
Harry walked into his room on the second floor, and shut the door behind him. He didn't feel like talking to anybody right now, and just wanted to be alone for the next two days until his hearing. He heard a knock on the door, and ignored it. The person who knocked on the door kept knocking, and after five minutes, Harry got up and opened the door. The one person he didn't think he would see this summer was right in front of his face, and that person was no other than his girlfriend: Daphne Greengrass. "I had a feeling that you needed my help. May I come in?" she asked him.
Harry nodded at her, and allowed her to come in. He then shut the door, and walked back to the bed he was sitting on. Daphne took his hand in hers, then told him "I heard about the hearing from Ron and Hermione. It's barbaric, and they can't possibly arrest you, because it was self-defense. You have Ron and Hermione as witnesses, since they were with you at the time. You even have Veritaserum and your memories as evidence. Don't worry too much, you'll be just fine, my love." For once after he gotten the letter informing him of the hearing he had to go to, Harry felt happiness. He kissed his girlfriend, and asked her "Why don't we go back downstairs with the others?" She nodded at him, and they walked back down to the kitchen.
They walked into the kitchen, and sat down at the table. "Since we're going to my hearing in two days, do you two want to register as Animaguses then?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione. Hermione was the first to ask "Why are we all going to your hearing, Harry?" Harry answered "Daphne brought up a fair point to me. You two are witnesses for the event since you were there." Ron thought of this, and then said "I honestly didn't think about that, but we might as well register as Animaguses after your hearing. It'll beat going there tomorrow and then going the day after." Mrs. Weasley decided to make dinner at that moment, and Harry made an internal decision to tell Sirius and Mr. Weasley what happened while they were gone. That moment came a half an hour after Mrs. Weasley started making dinner.
Mr. Weasley and Sirius came to the kitchen, and boy were they starving. "Sirius, Mr. Weasley, I have to tell you something." Harry said while they were eating dinner. They both looked up from their plates, and Sirius asked "What is it Harry?" Mr. Weasley said "I already know Harry. I received a letter at the office today. I'll escort you to your hearing." Sirius asked in shock "WHAT HEARING?! Harry what happened?" Harry explained to them how four Dementors attacked them in Muggle London, in the presence of five Muggles. "I'm going down to the Ministry right now." Sirius said as he got up from the table. Harry got up from the table, and ran in front of his godfather. "Sirius I am not going to lose you again. You're staying here and you're not going to the Ministry of Magic. Daphne, Hermione, Ron, and I have a plan. I'm going to come back home."
Sirius looked at his godson, and hugged him. "I couldn't bear losing you again either Harry. I'll stay here, and have faith that you know what you're doing." Harry relished in the hug with his godfather, as that was the most sentimental moment they had ever had together. Harry walked Daphne to the fireplace, and told her "You should get back home with your parents. I'll let you know how the hearing went. Besides, I expect your coming to my birthday party." Daphne kissed Harry, then used Floo Powder to go back home. "Well that's as much excitement I can take for one day. I'm going to bed." Harry told the others. Ron and Hermione went upstairs with him, because they were feeling pretty drained themselves.
They all changed into their pajamas in went to bed. At least, Ron and Hermione did. Harry had trouble sleeping, because he was dreaming about a door that he had never seen before. He could feel himself say "Almost there. Just a little bit closer." and everytime he touched the door he woke up, dripping in sweat. It was five o'clock in the morning when Harry stopped going back to sleep, due to the dream he was having. He went upstairs to visit Buckbeak, while waiting for everyone else to wake up. "Hey there Buckbeak. D'you remember me?" Buckbeak looked up at Harry with one big, orange eye, and nodded at him. Harry was in the middle of feeding Buckbeak, when Sirius came into the room with a bag of dead rats.
"I see you've taken my early morning job for today. Why are you up this early anyways?" Sirius asked Harry out of sheer curiosity. Harry explained to Sirius about the dream he had, and Sirius looked at Harry with worry. "And you think that what you are seeing is really happening at that moment?" Sirius asked Harry. Harry nodded, then Sirius told him "If that is the case, then it is imperative that you learn Occlumency this year." Harry said "I've already arranged that with Dumbledore, and he agrees that I be doing this too." Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder "That's my boy." Sirius said to Harry, as fathers said to their sons. "Well Harry, since we have at least another three hours before everyone else wakes up, do you want to practice your Apparating in the kitchen?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded at his godfather, and they headed down to the kitchen.
When they entered the kitchen, Sirius magically conjured two golden rings, big enough for a few people to step inside of, then placed them ten inches in front of them. "Now Harry, the key thing to remember is that you have to be focused and determined. You have to concentrate on where you want to Apparate, and be determined to reach that destination. You must also be careful, as you could splinch yourself." Sirius instructed. "What does splinching mean Sirius?" Harry asked with a scared look on his face. "Splinching is what happens when you unsuccessfully Apparate. A wizard or witch who splinches themselves, leaves clothing or a part of their body behind when they Apparate. That is what splinching is."
Harry suddenly didn't want to learn how to Apparate anymore. Dragons, hordes of Dementors, Grindylows, and Voldemort he could handle, but the possibility of losing a body part he could not handle. "Don't worry Harry, since you're training with me everything will be alright. James and I got splinched ourselves a couple of times, and we learned how to heal them, just in case." Relief swept throughout Harry's body, as soon as Sirius said that. Harry then did everything that Sirius told him to do, and he once again felt like he was pushed through a rubber tube. He opened his eyes and saw that he was only two inches away from the golden ring, and he patted his body to make sure he didn't leave any body part behind, and much to his surprise he didn't. He walked back to where Sirius was standing, and Sirius told him "That was good for your first time, Harry. Just keep practicing, and soon you'll not need to close your eyes to Apparate. It'll just come second-hand to you, like walking and talking." Harry nodded and kept practicing for the next three hours, and stopped when everyone came downstairs for breakfast. He got the hang of Apparition by that time, and all he had to do was keep practicing with Apparition and his Animagus transformations. For breakfast, they had heaping helpings of pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and orange juice or milk.
Mr. Weasley left to the Ministry of Magic right after breakfast, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to go for a walk in Diagon Alley. Sirius objected because of what happened yesterday, but it was clear that the three teens weren't taking no for an answer, so he decided to escort them just to be safe. They went to Flourish and Blotts first, but had to wait until ten o'clock for it to open, and they waited at the Leaky Cauldron. They passed the time in the Leaky Cauldron by playing Wizard Chess and Exploding Snap, until ten o'clock came, then they went to Flourish and Blotts. Harry looked at books relating to Occlumency, Hermione looked at books that interested her (which happened to be every book in the store), Ron looked at books on Quidditch, and Sirius looked at books on home wards. Harry bought his books, along with some for the others, and they all decided to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where Sirius treated them to whatever ice cream they wanted.
Harry got a Hot Fudge Sundae, Hermione got a Banana Split, Ron got a Chocolate and Raspberry flavored-ice cream with chopped nuts, and Sirius got Cookies 'N Cream ice cream with some milk in it. It was a wonderful day out, and when they finished their ice cream, they went to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop. They left the shop with bags of sweets, and full stomachs. The group went back to Grimmauld Place after buying the sweets, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to Animagus training. Since they already covered how to transform without messing up, they started learning how to fight in their Animagus forms, and that required a lot of practice since they had to get used to moving around in their animal bodies. Especially Harry, who could transform into as many animals as he can turn into. He found out he could even turn into a werewolf, but instead of losing his mind, he kept it and could control it.
It was such a fun day for Harry that he forgot that he had a hearing the next day, and he also forgotten that tomorrow was his birthday. He forgot until Mrs. Weasley asked him "Harry dear, what would you like to eat for your birthday tomorrow? For the party, I mean?" The question threw him off, and he mentally slapped himself for forgetting his own birthday, then he answered "You can make whatever you want Mrs. Weasley. Besides I enjoy all of the food that you make, so it would be very hard to choose." Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry, and went back to planning his birthday party. Harry on the other hand, was reading through his Apparition books, as he was getting better at Apparating with every practice. He was even considering teaching Hermione and Ron how to Apparate at Hogwarts, until he remembered that you can't Apparate inside of Hogwarts, as Hermione kept constantly reminding himself and Ron. All throughout dinner, Harry kept wondering what he could teach Hermione and Ron while they were at Hogwarts, and the answer came to him, when they went upstairs for bed after dinner.
"How would you two like to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts from me, when we aren't taking the class with Sirius?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione. Hermione lit up as she replied "That would be lovely. Maybe I can finally learn how to not get scared at my Boggart." Ron nodded his head in agreement, then said "That'll be fantastic, but one problem. Where are we going to practice? I highly doubt McGonagall will let us practice in the Gryffindor Common Room." This was a problem Harry had not thought of, and he replied "We'll figure it out when we get to Hogwarts, but we have to be up early for the hearing tomorrow. So good night you two." He fell asleep, and thankfully didn't have the same nightmare he had been having for most of the summer, but he still couldn't sleep due to extreme nervousness.
In the end, Harry barely got two hours of sleep, because of how nervous he was to sleep. Hermione and Ron on the other hand were fully energized, since they weren't plagued with nervousness. They waited in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley who made them breakfast, Ron and Hermione ate, but Harry couldn't eat. When six-thirty came, Mr. Weasley came to the kitchen to collect Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "You ready, you three?" he asked them. They nodded their heads, and followed him out of the kitchen. When they were walking to the front door, Harry felt that Sirius was watching him, but when he looked, Sirius wasn't there.
"We'll be taking the train to the visitor's entrance to the Ministry." Mr. Weasley said as they went to the Muggle Underground. Mr. Weasley was instantly fascinated with the trains, and the technology the Muggles used without magic, and Harry and Hermione had to help him out with buying the tickets, and getting through the gates. It was an interesting train ride to say the least, since Harry and Hermione had to stop Mr. Weasley from touching the emergency brake, and several other things on the train, until they reached their stop at Whitehall, London. Mr. Weasley then took them to an abandoned red telephone, and told them all to get in. They were all cramped as Mr. Weasley put Muggle money in the phone, and dialed: six-two-four-four-two.
An automated voice said "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your names, and your business." Mr. Weasley responded "Arthur Weasley. Escorting Harry Potter to his hearing. Harry Potter. Going to a formal hearing. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Witnesses to Harry's hearing. Also, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley to register as Animaguses." The phone beeped, and then gave them seven badges. They all pinned them to their shirts, and the elevator descended into the ground. Harry was surprised that the ancient telephone booth was the visitors entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Weasley opened the door to the telephone booth, and led the three to the security guard to get their wands weighed.
Harry got his wand weighed first and placed it on a set of scales, and a piece of paper came out of the scales, and the guard grabbed it and read "Eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather. Here you go, Mr. Potter. You may proceed." Harry stayed there while everyone else got their wands weighed. Hermione put her wand on the scales, and the guard read "Ten and three quarter inches, vine and dragon heartstring." Then Ron placed his wand on the scales, and the guard once again read "Fourteen inches, willow and unicorn tail hair." Finally Mr. Weasley tried to place his wand on the scales, but the guard said "Arthur you are a Ministry official, you don't have to weigh your wand." Mr. Weasley shrugged his shoulders, and led the three teens to his office. They had to get on the lifts, but when they got on the lifts, a man approached Mr. Weasley and said "Good thing I caught you Arthur. They changed the time of the hearing to right now, it's in Courtroom Ten in front of the Wizengamot." Mr. Weasley replied "Bloody hell. The full Wizengamot. Thank you." The man bowed, and Mr. Weasley pressed the number nine on the lifts, and Harry felt that the lift was going down.
The door dinged opened and Mr. Weasley led them to Courtroom Ten. "This is where I'm going to stay until after your hearing. When it's over, I'll take you up to register as Animaguses. Best of luck to you Harry." Harry nodded and walked into the Courtroom Ten, along with Hermione and Ron. Harry sat in the chair, and Hermione and Ron stood on the side of him. "Excuse me, but this is a hearing for Mr. Potter. So you two need to leave." Minister Fudge said. Hermione quickly countered "We're witnesses for Harry, as we were with him when he casted the Patronus Charm." Fudge nodded and conjured two additional chairs for Hermione and Ron. They sat down and Fudge started questioning Harry.
"You are one Harry James Potter, who lives at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place correct?" Fudge asked. Harry answered "Yes, that is correct sir." Fudge continued the questioning "Did you produce a Patronus Charm in front of four Muggles?" Harry once again answered "Yes sir, I did, but I only did because of the Dementors." This shocked the Wizengamot. "The Dementors? How many were there?" Fudge asked. Harry answered "There were four of them. Me and my friends here were taking a walk in the park in Muggle London, and then the Dementors came. If I didn't cast the Patronus, I wouldn't be here right now." Ron said "It's true Minister. If you don't believe us, then give us Veritaserum." "It's time for voting." Fudge said. "All of those for arresting Mr. Potter?" Three people, including a fat, short, ugly woman with a pink bow in her hair, raised their wands. "Those who want to clear him of all charges?" Fudge asked. Everyone else raised their wands, even Minister Fudge.
Fudge banged his gavel, then said "The accused is cleared of all charges, and Mr. Potter I wish that you have great luck in trying to stop You-Know-Who. You have the full support of the Ministry behind you." Harry nodded at Fudge, and walked out of the courtroom with Ron and Hermione. "Well that went better than I bloody expected." Harry said as they walked towards Mr. Weasley. "At least you're not getting arrested on your birthday mate." Ron said with a little laugh. "Hey you lot. Ready to go register as Animaguses?" Mr. Weasley asked them. They nodded, and Mr. Weasley led them back to the lifts, but this time he pressed the number two. "We're going to the Improper Use of Magic Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. When we are done, I'll create a portkey so you three can go back to Grimmauld Place." Mr. Weasley explained. It didn't take long for them to get to the Improper Use of Magic Office, and soon they were in front of a witch registering to be Animaguses.
"Name and Animal?" the witch asked Hermione. Hermione answered "Hermione Jean Granger, and I turn into a lioness." The witch then asked her "Any distinguishing traits or features?" Hermione said "I have a weird mark on my head that looks like the Hogwarts Crest." The witch wrote all of that down, then looked at Ron, and repeated the same questions to him. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, and I turn into a Jack Russell Terrier. My paws and my ears are white, and the fur on my body is black and brown." The witch once again wrote this all down, and looked at Harry, and asked him the same questions. "Harry James Potter, and I turn into a stag. I always bow when I transform, and my antlers are tilted at a forty-five degree angle." The witch wrote all of this down, but when she finished, she tried to look at Harry's scar.
Mr. Weasley rushed them all out of the office, and made a newspaper out of a copy of a magazine called 'The Quibbler'. Harry, Hermione, and Ron touched the newspaper, and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel, and they were transported to Grimmauld Place. As always, Harry never landed on his legs, but he fell on his back. As Hermione and Ron helped him up, he was welcomed with a bunch of people yelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" He looked around at everybody, and his day got a whole lot better when Daphne ran up to him and kissed him. His day went perfectly, and he thought to himself "Maybe this year at Hogwarts won't be so bad. Besides, what can possibly go wrong?" He was left with a feeling of euphoria as he sliced open his cake, which was shaped like a Firebolt.