Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling

Chapter 2

Amelia Bones, wearing the Wizengamot standard deep maroon robes, confidently entered the chamber and made her way towards her seat whilst giving those that she walked past a polite nod. Today was a very important day for magical Britain, as it would be the day when all of the Dark Lord's followers would finally be put to rest, and it would finally end the terror that Death Eaters held over the country.

The chamber was already full with various people. The area which was allocated for the reporters was full of pushing and shoving as they tried to find the best spot to view the trial. The visiting section was also full with family members of the Lords and Ladies sitting on their family seats. From where she was sitting she could see her good friend, Lily Potter, and when they made eye contact Amelia gave her a small smile of support which Lily returned gratefully.

Lily's children looked downcast as they sat next to their mother and in her opinion, it wasn't going to be an easy day for the Potter Family. Her eyes then caught James', who was currently sitting on the Potter seat, alongside his friend Sirius, who was currently sitting on the Black seat as a regent while looking very uneasy. Sirius had been announced regent during the height of the war but to this day nobody knew how he had gotten the authority to do so considering nobody knew who the current Lord Black was.

Her eyes then lay on her niece, Susan Bones, who currently occupied the Bones' Family seat. She couldn't help but swell with pride as she talked confidently with the lords and ladies around her. It was her first time sitting on the seat and she was doing a great job. Amelia then gave her a smile and a nod of encouragement and pride towards her when their eyes met.

A few minutes later, someone that the Minister of Magic was very eager to see, entered the room. Daphne Greengrass strode into the chamber elegantly, and she immediately looked at Amelia. Amelia had received a notice a few days ago that Daphne had opted not to take part in today's trial, which greatly flummoxed her.

So what was she doing here? She definitely wasn't here to sit on her family seat as she wasn't wearing the robes that Lords and Ladies were required to wear for Wizengamot meetings. Furthermore, the look she was receiving also made her more cautious and confused. The look she was receiving was mirthful, but looking sharply she could also decipher a sense of pity and sadness in it.

'What in the world?' she thought.

"The trial shall now begin,'' the Minister's undersecretary, Percy Weasley, announced in a loud stern tone.

"For today's trial, the prosecuting barrister is Fleur Delacour and the defendant will be represented by…" Percy's large brown eyes bulged noticeably, before quickly clearing his throat and continuing, "Daphne Greengrass."

Murmurs had already broken out when it was announced that Fleur Delacour would be prosecuting instead of Daphne Greengrass, however those murmurs were replaced by loud noises of shock, disbelief, and confusion, when the defendant was announced. The reporters were already scribbling furiously on their pieces of parchment, glee written all over their faces as they took in the juicy news.

All those present, including the Potter Family, were expecting a junior barrister to defend Voldemort's right hand. They definitely weren't expecting him to be defended by one of the best barristers in Magical Britain. This wasn't good news for anyone. There was now a chance, no matter how small it was, that Harry James Potter could become a free man, and this was making almost everyone fret in their seats as it was unnerving to hear that the person who had been prosecuting all the death eaters since Voldemort's defeat, was now going to be defending his most important and powerful follower.

Nobody noticed the smirk on Sirius' face as all their gazes were directed towards Daphne. Her face remained as passive as ever, but those with the trained eye could decipher a hint of amusement. Daphne gained a ton of respect from the time she had joined the Law Enforcement as a junior barrister. She had jumped straight into the deep end after she had received her barrister's licence, and proved everyone wrong, time and time again. Moreover, despite her relatively young age of twenty-three, it was considered foolish to think of going against her as a walk in a park. It wasn't and her continued success proved that.

Daphne was also known to be ruthless in court, and she always got her preferred outcome. She had a way with words that always managed to get what she wanted from the person she was prosecuting. The senior members present knew that if she played her cards right, then Voldemort's most feared follower would either get off scot-free or receive a much lighter sentence than the veil of death.

If this trial had taken place during the beginning of Voldemort's second reign of power, there could have been some foul play taking place, allowing a much easier win for either side. To prevent such, a new law had been enacted where the jury had to take an oath prior to any trial, forcing them to give fair sentences depending on the crime and whether the accused was guilty or not.

As the commotion was taking place, Sirius sat there on the Black's Wizengamot seat, internally roaring with laughter. His outward expression, however, remained neutral, not revealing what was going on in his brain or what his thoughts were. He was hoping with all his heart that Antares would be free. After all, he felt he was to blame, because he had let his son become a Death Eater knowing what the consequences would be. He just hoped that the plan he had formed alongside Daphne would work, and she would play her cards right and leave no stone unturned.

All they needed to do now was show just how important Antares was in the defeat of Voldemort and the only way that was possible was by revealing everything they could in court. And if necessary, by telling them through veritaserum or by showing them via memories.

After a few moments, the shock wore off, and most of those present started shouting at Daphne. Some accused her of betraying them and Wizarding Britain, because she was siding with a Death Eater, while many others verbally voiced their thoughts that she had become crazy and that her success had gone to her head.

The Potter family stared at Daphne with angry eyes. None more so than Alexander Potter, who was eighteen, and now known as the Man-Who-Conquered. On the other hand, Rose Potter, who was sixteen, did not glare at all and instead her eyes shone with hope as she looked at Daphne.

She had missed her brother terribly ever since he had left them in favour of the Death Eaters. She, like many others, never understood why he did it. He was always so kind and caring, nothing like what the Death Eaters were known to be. Moreover, what hurt the most was that he had never said goodbye. He was present one day, and the day after he was gone.

Harry had always been her favourite brother. He had always been there for her ever since she was little. He would always find time to spend with her and this continued to happen as they got older. He would help her with her homework when she needed it, play quidditch with her and, most importantly, make her smile when she was upset. No words could describe how much she missed all of that and how much she wanted her brother back.

Alexander, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as happy. He had never been that close to his elder brother or sister for that matter and instead focused on maintaining his public image. He didn't dislike them, he just always felt that he was better than them because he had defeated Voldemort. He also used to love his fame and how often he would make the front page of the Daily Prophet; however, his love of these things dropped dramatically as he experienced what war really felt like. Instead, he started to appreciate the moments he received away from the public eye.

When he had found out his brother had joined the Death Eaters, he, like most of the rest of his family and friends, was shocked and furious at his actions. His family was light, and thanks to Harry joining Voldemort, he had hurt the reputation of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, which, in extent, meant himself. He had demanded his parents to disown him from the Potter family when he found out what exactly You-Know-Who's followers did during raids. They, however, much to his frustration and disbelief, opted to not do so for the main reason being that they wanted to know why he had joined the dark. They wanted all the information before they acted on it.

Sitting right there waiting for the trial to begin, Alexander could not wait for the trial to begin. But all his thoughts of not seeing his brother again immediately started to crash around him once he heard who was defending his disgraced brother.

"Bring in the accused!" the Minister ordered in a loud voice before the unrest in the chambers could continue. Her sharp, hazel brown eyes remained fixed on the Slytherin barrister who was currently going through the sheets of paper in front of her.

The large deep brown oak doors opened and Auror Jackson came through, with a limp, followed by Voldemort's right hand man who was further followed by two other aurors. Another pair of magical suppression cuffs were wrapped around his wrists as he was escorted towards his seat in the centre of the room. Everyone present looked towards him like a hawk, trying to see if anything was amiss, but apart from his look, which had deteriorated somewhat since he was brought into the ministry, everything else seemed fine, except for his face. His eyes were sharp and cold while his lips were curved upwards in a slight grin. It was unnerving, to say the least.

Once he was seated, the magical suppressions cuffs were removed and a pair of metal chains magically attached themselves to his legs, which allowed him to get up and move a few steps and were long enough for him to move freely. This was done because they didn't want the suppression cuffs to intervene with any magic placed on Harry.

Antares straightened his back and was attempting to get comfortable when someone on his right spoke.

"Ready?"

That stopped him dead in his tracks. He hadn't heard that voice for so long and it made his heart clench. He slowly turned his head towards the voice and stared at the person dumbfounded.

In his eyes, she looked just as beautiful as she did the last time he had seen her. But he didn't take in what she was wearing, or how her hair was done. No, instead his eyes remained fixated on her face and especially her cerulean eyes, which severely lacked the hurt or anger that was present in them the last time they had conversed. Her eyes, this time, shone with longing, determination, and a bit of amusement.

"Daphne?" said Antares in a hoarse voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to save you," replied Daphne in a soft voice, surprising many in the room as none of them had ever heard her speak like that. "I know everything, thanks to Sirius, and now I'm going to set you free."

"I promise you that I will win." She then nodded towards the direction where Sirius was sitting.

Antares' head swivelled around in that direction and looked for his father. His eyes caught his father's almost immediately, completely ignoring the looks he was receiving from everyone, especially his 'adopted father' James Potter.

The look and nod of his head that he received from Sirius was all the confirmation he needed. He looked back at his surprised barrister and said in a steady voice, "Thank you, Daphne."

Daphne just smiled in response before saying, "I repeat, are you ready?"

"Yes…" Antares cleared his throat, "I am."

The look of determination reappeared on her face. "Good. Now let me do most of the talking. We don't want your inner idiotic and brash Gryffindor tendencies to come out now, do we?"

All the sensitive Gryffindors in the courtroom immediately bristled at the minor insult and started to make a fuss. This, funnily enough, led the non-Gryffindors to say a few things which started an argument, much to Antares' amusement. But before anything could get out of hand, the minister banged her gavel on the table in front of her, silencing those arguing immediately.

The amused female who caused this minor incident to occur, then gave the person who she was defending something that no one present had seen. A true warm smile. Nobody had thought that it was possible for the ruthless, emotionless former ice queen to show such emotion. However, as she normally did, she ignored them and instead turned towards Minister Bones who was watching them very carefully.

"You may begin, Minister. We are ready."

Amelia could only nod her head. She had a bad feeling about this trial and she could only hope that it started and ended as smoothly as possible.

'Today's going to be a long day,' the minister thought.

Author's Note

So, here is the second instalment to this story. I hope you all enjoyed it. I would like to point out that if you have not read the original or have read it but can't pinpoint what happens next, KEEP it that way! You don't want to read any spoilers which could ruin this fanfic for you. Despite there being many changes that have been made so far when compared with the original, and that these changes will continue to happen as we delve deeper into the plot, the similarities still exist.

I would also like to give a thank you to good friends of mine Wish_ and Idefix for beta reading this.

Furthermore, if you wish to interact with me, or anyone else, who loves the Harry/Daphne ship or just in general, feel free to join the Haphne Discord Server. There is chaos, mayhem, murder, game nights, author and general discussions and much much more! You can also meet some of your favourite authors and bully them into writing more chapters! If that has gotten your attention, just join anyways! :)

Discord Server Link: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU (just remember to replace 'dot' with '.')

You can also join my server as well!

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I also have my own server which you are all free to join. The link to that server can be found on my profile page.

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Until next time, have a good one!

Hydra