Chapter 3: Trial

January 17th, 2005

The last month had been hectic both emotionally and physically between giving statements to The Aurors and trying to show Delphi that she was finally safe. Just like he predicted the media was in a frenzy about the Potter Twins.

Tonks became one of the most loved and hated witches in the British wizarding world overnight. Loved because she gave the chosen one a family and continued a lineage that stretched back over 900 years. Hated simply for the fact that she was the one who snagged the man who had conquered.

To lessen the attention, they had given an interview to Penelope Jones nee Clearwater. In it, they explained that they had a night of passion on his 17th birthday that produced twins and that a family friend pretended to be the twin's father to help keep his family safe. How losing their daughter and all those from the war had destroyed him and he needed to get away to get his head straight for his family. How he came back and admitted to Tonks that he loved her and she felt the same way for him, then the revelation that their daughter was alive.

The public ate it up and Remus Lupin was being looked at as a hero to the wizarding world, even with being a well-known werewolf. There was even some talk about awarding him an order of Merlin 3rd class for his actions in preserving such an illustrious bloodline. Their lie had spiraled and for the better as it was looking that restrictions on werewolves might even be lessened.

Dora confessed to him that she didn't know how to feel about the situation. Even over 5 years later she was still hurt by the actions of the man and him getting positive attention because a lie that effectively stole his son from him was not helping her anger and guilt. Harry was almost tempted to call him forth with the resurrection stone but decided against it, the dead should be allowed their rest.

Delphi meanwhile was eating up the positive attention and love that their family and friends were showering her with. Teddy had practically become her shadow at this point. He was always willing to play with her and just sit next to her quietly while she read. Hestia and Penelope had jointly accepted to become the godmothers to Delphi, refusing to blame the child for the crimes of the parents.

Delphi loved her 'brother' and would shyly ask him to play not realizing he would do anything for her. Delphi had also latched onto Dora and was enjoying having a mother. She loved when Dora would read stories to her and morph to match some of the voices and faces. Her shrieks of laughter could be heard constantly.

She was very cautious with him for the first week which worried all of them which included Hestia and Penelope. He had worried that Lestrange had done something horrible to her but his fears had been unfounded. Delphi in her first visit with the mind healer had revealed that most of her issues dealt with Rowle verbally abusing her and telling her she was a worthless half-blood and that her father was too weak to get the job done. Delphi had only seen Lestrange twice with both times being brief thankfully.

Lestrange hadn't even been given a trial as he was murdered in Auror custody by Proudfoot. He couldn't blame the man as he had murdered Proudfoot's 13-year-old daughter during the battle of Hogwarts. Lestrange had collapsed a room she had been hiding in. What made it worse was her brother had watched his little sister slowly die unable to do anything because he had been pinned to the ground by a broken desk and rubble.

Proudfoot had surrendered himself without any fuss and was awaiting trial, which was looking more and more favorable for the man. The public unsurprisingly had been on his side, coloring it as grief and him losing his mind momentarily. Harry had hired the best solicitor he could for the man. He may not have agreed with Proudfoot's actions but he could understand them and if the 'imperiused' Death Eaters could get off scot-free why couldn't a grieving father?

About two weeks into Delphi living with them they had given the children a dreamless sleep potion and proceeded with him blood-adopting Teddy and Dora doing the same to Delphi. This had a surprising side effect as Teddy had developed the gift of Parseltongue and Delphi's slight metamorph gift had developed into a full one. Delphi had only been able to change the tips of her hair but with a blood adoption from Dora, she had manifested total control, which helped sell the lie that both Harry and Dora were her parents as they were the only two metamorphs in Britain before the 'twins' birth.

The trial for Euphemia Rowle was happening later that day. It would be Delphi's first public appearance. Harry and Dora were not looking forward to their little girl being put on the stand. The Wizarding World in its archaic nature allowed those being trialed to confront their accusers regardless of evidence, which wouldn't be too bad if there were age restrictions for minors.

He made his way to the kitchen where he could hear voices excitedly yammering. Standing in the doorway he took in the sight of his daughter with a bright smile on her face laughing as Teddy changed his face while eating. He let out a chuckle himself at his son's antics which caused both of the children to look at him. He noticed his girlfriend just watching with a smile on her face as she held a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Dad!" Teddy exclaimed bounding forth as his sister followed at a more sedate pace.

Teddy jumped into his arms as he spun him around eliciting giggles from the younger metamorph.

Setting him down he noticed Delphi looking at them with a longing look.

"Not going to give your old man a hug?" Harry teasingly asked her.

Delphi given permission bounded forth just like her brother and launched herself into his arms. After he twirled her he set her down and kissed the top of her head.

Picking her up again he put her in her chair as he fixed some breakfast for himself from the huge spread his future mother-in-law put together. They spent the rest of the time immersed in quiet conversation that would occasionally turn loud when Teddy would once more play with his food, which was usually shut down quickly by Dora.

After he finished his breakfast he gave Delphi what he hoped was a look of reassurance about the upcoming trial. He didn't miss how her hands gripped her utensils tightly.

Dora didn't miss it either as she came up and hugged Delphi, whispering in her ear that they would never leave her.

"Promise?" He barely heard Delphi ask.

"Promise," Dora told her as she took her out of the room to get freshened up.

They would have to leave in 20 minutes so that they wouldn't be late for the trial. Teddy would be staying with Andromeda which Rowle should be grateful for considering Andi wanted to skin the woman alive for how she treated her granddaughter. The imagery Andromeda conjured up of a blanket of the woman's skin had almost made him vomit. She had proven herself a true black with her schemes for vengeance, Dora had merely ignored it, most likely because she had over two decades to deal with Andromeda's madness. He was grateful scary Andromeda seemed to only make an appearance when her family was threatened or hurt.


As they entered the ministry the three of them were bombarded with reporters snapping pictures and shouting at them questions. They had told Delphi that this would probably happen but it still managed to scare the sheltered girl. Dora had to take Delphi into her arms as she glared at the reporters with Delphi hiding her head into Dora's chest.

Aurors came and ushered them away from the vultures, taking them to the courtroom where hopefully the bitch that abused his daughter would be put away for the rest of her life. If not he might pull a Proudfoot as much as he disagreed at his retribution.

It took another 30 minutes before the courtroom was filled with most of them looking in his family's direction. He spotted Hermione who was gazing at him with a mixture of anger and joy. He ignored all her attempts to contact him after she told him that Dumbledore had made the right choice. Dora had told him that she was working in the Ministry as a secretary in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She had tried approaching Dora multiple times over the years but she would refuse to talk on personal matters at work. From what Dora had told him Hermione had not taken the refusal well. Only Kingsley had gotten her to leave Dora alone after she had complained over drinks one night to her former partner.

Kingsley was furious when he found out what Dumbledore had done to Harry. He had not liked how he left him in an abusive home and practically forced him to commit suicide. Kingsley was sure that if Dumbledore had attempted to remove the Horcrux from his scar then he probably could have but his belief in prophecy forced him to not even attempt to try to help Harry.

"Order!" He heard Kingsley shout which quieted the room. "We are gathered here today for the trial of Euphemia Rowle, bring in the accused."

Hestia and a younger wizard brought in a chained Rowle who was glaring at the assembled members of the Wizengamot.

Kingsley read off her charges which included abduction, child abuse, resisting arrest, and other numerous crimes that had come to light with the investigation.

The prosecution provided proof of all allegations, with each one the Wizengamot growing angrier.

"Before sentencing do you have anything to say?"

Rowle's venomous expression had a few members of the Wizengamot fidgeting in their seats.

"I didn't steal anyone! She's the Dark Lords' daughter not that filthy MUDBLOOD!" Rowle spat, bringing forth pure rage as Harry stood.

"How dare you! You stole my daughter and have the audacity to claim that abomination sired her!" Harry snarled, his green eyes shining brightly as then a furious wind whipped around the room scaring a majority of the room as they finally saw the man who had killed Voldemort.

"Mr. Potter sit down!" Kingsley ordered, begrudgingly he reigned in his magic as he sat down.

Harry noticed some of the darker members looking at Delphi trying to ascertain the truth of her birth.

He didn't even notice his girlfriend standing, "If it pleases the court we have a reputed healer from St. Mungos who did multiple verification charms on our daughter and even our son. She is OUR daughter."

Healer Ross was soon in the room explaining that perhaps due to the killing curse that he was hit with when he was 15 months old alongside his bound powers giving a slightly off reading, but it did verify that he was the father of Delphini Andromeda Potter and Edward Remus Potter.

He couldn't bare to take away her first name it was all she had left when they had rescued her.

"She's a Parselmouth!" Rowle screamed which caused most of the court to again turn their eyes to his daughter, which caused her to look down scared at everyone looking at her again.

$ As am I you stupid bint $ Harry hissed, causing a few people to pale including Rowle. Delphi giggled which caused a few of the Wizengamot including Hermione to awe at her. Her giggles furthered when Dora rightly assumed he said something he shouldn't have in front of a child and proceeded to lightly smack the back of his head. This caused a few members to chuckle.

Harry stood again ignoring his glaring girlfriend, "As most of you know I'm a parselmouth as are my two children." He placed his hand on Delphi's shoulder comfortingly squeezing it softly. "Our history is littered with Parselmouths that have done great things for our world. It's only because of the insanity of the Gaunts that the gift is looked at negatively. Now those inbreds are extinct with the death of Voldemort." He ignored the flinches the name still gave as he soldiered on, "Who's to say that some of you future children won't be born with the gift, The Gaunts weren't the only ones that had it in their family history."

Tiberus Ogden stood, "He's right, my grandfather was a Parselmouth, he worked at St. Mungos for over 70 years healing people with his gift. My great-grandchildren could inherit it, for too long it's been looked at as a curse all because of one man. I say we judge the actions, not the magic." He sat down nodding at the look of gratitude that Harry sent his way.

Harry was glad to see a good chunk looking thoughtful, while not a complete win it was better than nothing. He hated how much hate Parselmouths got in Britain. Most Parselmouths outside Britain worked in curse-breaking, warding, or healing.

The sentencing proceeded with Kinglsey advocating the Dementors Kiss, which scandalized his former friend. Unfortunately, the attempt to have Rowle kissed failed and she was sentenced to 30 years in Azkaban. With her advanced age, she would not be leaving.

After the court adjourned Kingsley made his way to them. Delphi hugged her godfather as soon as he reached them, which caused the older man to smile widely.

Kingsley was one of the few who knew the truth about Delphi, having figured it out when he realized the healer had been obliviated and confounded. He had further solidified the obliviation making it undetectable. Kingsley refused to let the little girl become what Tom Riddle did, refusing to blame her for the actions of her parents.

It helped that Kingsley had a soft spot for Bellatrix before she was broken by Voldemort. He had been her boyfriend through the final three years of Hogwarts before her parents sold her to Lestrange. Kingsley had never forgiven himself for failing the woman he had loved. Kingsley may have been a pureblood but he wasn't from a significant house like the Blacks or Lestranges which caused him to not even be considered a possible groom regardless of the love he and Bellatrix felt for each other. In a way when Kingsley looked at Delphi, he saw the daughter he could have had with Bellatrix. He had practically demanded being godfather to her, a role he took with enthusiasm and his wife Melissa relished in as well. Their youngest had become friends with Teddy over the years and now was becoming just as good of a friend as she was with Teddy with Delphi.

"Come on you can take my private floo to get away from the jackals. Harry heard Dora sigh gratefully.

They didn't get far as Hermione stopped in front of them, "Harry!"

"Mrs. Weasley." He said nodding to her. He ignored her flinch at the formal tone that was devoid of any warmth that he had once had for one of his oldest friends.

Before Hermione could say anything Kingsley did, "Mrs. Weasley I suggest you move on, you made your choice 6 years ago." Kingsley's tone brokered no argument as he glared at the younger witch.

"But-"

"Mrs. Weasley if I have to tell you again I will be speaking to your supervisor about how a junior secretary shouldn't have even been allowed in the courtroom."

"And Auror Tonks shouldn't have either!" Hermione protested.

Delphi once again hid her face in her mother's chest, which caused Dora to growl. "How dare you Granger, I was here supporting my daughter, the daughter that was stolen from me!"

"How come you never told me about Tonks, you cheated on Ginny!" Hermione accused ignoring Dora which ignited his anger.

"How dare you!" He hissed, causing her to pale, she was not used to him arguing with her. "I broke up with Ginny long before my 17th birthday, I only dated her in the first place to try to ignore the war. I never loved her. The only woman I have ever loved is the mother of my children!" He grasped his girlfriend's free hand in his as he looked away from his former friend and made his way to Kingsley's office.

He missed Kingsley telling Hermione that she would be lucky to not get demoted for disobeying The Minister Of Magic. Kingsley quickly caught up with the two of them and let them into his office. They made dinner plans later that week before Kingsley gave Delphi another hug and then they were off to Grimmauld. Kingsley's office was one of the few that could even connect to the House of Black.

The trial had exhausted Delphi mentally as the three of them were joined by Andi and Teddy as they all cuddled on an expanded sofa. Forgetting their worries for a couple of hours they enjoyed family time.


December 23rd 2005

The last 11 months had been hectic. Delphi had opened up leaving most of her trauma behind. There would be a few moments here and there where she would regress but a quick hug from her brother would usually break her out of her memories.

Dora had quit being an Auror and spent the next 6 months training with Harry. He had attempted to teach her sorcerer magic but she didn't have the aptitude for it. Legally they couldn't use combat spells while on missions for Fury due to the ICW but they could use scent masking, invisibility, and other enhancements as long as they didn't advertise it.

Dora hadn't been allowed on any missions as of yet since she hadn't passed a combat test from Clint yet, though each day she was getting closer and closer. Like her Black ancestry, she favored a pair of curved enchanted daggers. The daggers had been coated in basilisk venom and enchanted to never cut anyone that was blood bound to the daggers which included everyone in their family just for good measure.

Dora had also figured out how to use their metamorph gift to strengthen certain muscles. She had seen medical scans of Steve Rogers before he disappeared and tried to shift herself to how his body was and had limited success. They were no Captain America but they were stronger than the average person. It did have the side effect of leaving them tired if they used it too much. It was incredibly taxing on their morphing. She thought that she could do better if she had updated scans since the machines in the 40s were primitive at least by today's standards.

Fury had been ecstatic about Dora joining SHIELD, at least Harry thought he was. It was hard to tell with the usual Stoic man.

Clint had been hopeful that Dora would be good enough to join them in a couple of months. Clint didn't know about their magic otherwise he would probably say that Dora was ready now. The Hawk hadn't been read into magic yet, though with him working closely with two metamorphs the reveal was imminent.

On a personal level, he and Dora had gotten closer than he ever thought he could be with another person. He loved her more than he ever thought he could love another person. The only two people he loved more than her were Teddy and Delphi, but who didn't love their kids more than their significant other?

Which led them to this moment standing on the tower where she had found a broken man all those years ago.

"Why are we here Luv?" She faux innocently asked, clearly understanding why he brought her here, a certain question that she knew he had been holding back asking for some reason.

"You found me here all those years ago, I didn't say it but I was contemplating jumping off the tower that night." He admitted the one secret he hadn't shared with anyone.

She walked forward and pulled him away from the open windowsill. "I told you that night I'm with you to the end."

"I know he whispered as he lower his head looking down, Dora pulled him up and kissed him tenderly, trying to show how much she loved him.

After she was done he pulled away, "You saved me that night, more than you knew. I wanted to see everyone I lost again, to leave all the lies behind. You showed you cared when you looked for a traumatized boy even though you had just lost your husband and had a newborn at home."

She went to speak but stopped when he put his index finger to her mouth. "I think I fell for you that day." He smiled warmly at her, an action she returned.

"When I came back you have no idea how happy I was that you felt the same way."

"I think you're wrong on that one Potter." She retorted back getting a massive grin in response.

Harry got on one knee as he heard the love of his life gasp, "Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks I have loved you for years and I want to love you for the rest of my life, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife."

With a squeal, "Yes!"

He shakily put the engagement ring on the only woman he wanted to spend the rest of his days with. He was then pulled into a kiss that stole his breath away. For once everything in his life was right, he could only hope at that moment that it would continue for the rest of his days.

Sorry if the Quality isn't that good I wrote this in 2 hours. Next up we have an almost three year time skip, then we start canon by going to Budapest. The prologue is now officially done, I apologize if I rushed through it but I didn't want to take too long on it.

Thanks for Reading.