Upon leaving the courtroom, Sirius took one look at Melissa and burst out laughing. While others eyed him curiously he paid no mind, sweeping the girl into his arm while his fist noogied her head. "You absolute scoundrel!" He grinned. Melissa kicked out in protest, still half-dazed from the emotional drain. "That was brilliant! The court looked like they were about to burst! Ha!"

"Ow, Sirius, please." She protested. Fortunately the man let her down, his face still split in a grin.

"I take it that things went well?" Her mother asked, catching the good mood from the wizard.

Sirius nodded. "The Dursleys are getting a good long stint in Azkaban. We're just taking a break for now, but everything else will be settled after lunch."

At hearing that news, Melissa turned away and searched for Harry, who was only a few paces behind with the rest of her family. He smiled weakly at her, and she beamed back. They've won the first half of the battle, now to get ready for round two.

Lunch was an animated affair. After getting chewed out by Aunt Sophie and Mister Tonks, Melissa and her mum were filled in on the rest of the morning's hearing. Harry had gone up to give his own testimony, as had Petunia and Vernon Dursley. It had been a painful set of questions and answers. The Dursleys tried to paint themselves as victims against wizardkind, but that easily fell on deaf ears. This was especially so when Mister Tonks had produced Melissa's lockbox of letters from Harry over the years and excerpts from a journal Harry had been hiding in a leg pouch that detailed the worst of the abuse for the past year.

When faced with Harry's time-stamped accounts of his abuse, his relatives had nothing to show for it but to claim them as lies and delusions. Again, not a smart move in front of a group of British wizards. When it came to sentencing, they didn't stand a chance.

"Oh, but you'll never guess who tried to stop it." Sirius' tale turned from smug to disgruntled. His face twisted peculiarly as the subject changed. "Dumbledore got up near the end and tried to convince the court to show mercy and give them only one year in Azkaban."

Despite the need for shock, Melissa snorted in laughter instead. "Oh, please tell me how that went?"

Sirius just seemed angry about the whole thing. "He actually had the balls to claim that Harry is safer with the Dursleys. From Death Eaters, at least. Claimed that Harry is protected with blood magic, so that no dark wizard can hurt him so long as he stays with his aunt."

Melissa slowly turned from Sirius to Mister Tonks with a shark-like smile. "Please tell me you ripped him a new one for that?"

Mister Tonks returned her look with a cunning smile of his own. "I told him that it won't matter what dark wizard looks for him if his own family kills him first. It also won't matter if a muggle comes into their house with a knife or gun and kills everyone inside. I also added the obvious that wizards are perfectly capable of defending their properties from dark magic and muggles, and the Black family is especially known for their powerful wards, rendering his worry moot."

"Mister Tonks, you beautiful soul." Melissa purred. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"I still can't believe Dumbledore, of all people, would defend them." Sirius half-mumbled to the group. "He was our leader against You-Know-Who, he helped protect James and Lily. Why would he risk keeping Harry with those despicable people?"

No one at the table could answer the question. Melissa had her own theories, but kept them to herself. In that silence, an elderly man approached the table. His plum-coloured robes showed him to be a member of the Wizengamot. Melissa didn't know him, yet his features seemed vaguely familiar.

"Sirius." The man peered down haughtily.

Sirius stood up and squared his shoulders. "Grandfather."

Grandfather? Harry and Melissa met each other's eyes, asking the same silent question, before turning back to the two men.

"I trust you are ready for what's to come." The man cautioned.

"I am. Thank you for offering to help." The thanks didn't seem to reach Sirius' eyes.

The man nodded. "You are welcome. Even in an unusual case such as this, it is unbecoming to abandon family."

The two men seemed less like family and more like two lords in an uneasy alliance. They were gauging each other, a test of dominance, neither of them submitting to the other. At one point, Sirius twitched into a smile and stepped aside.

"Now, where are my manners?" His voice hinted at a playful air. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my grandfather, Arcturus Black. Grandfather, I'm sure you already know Andromeda's husband, Edward Tonks?"

Catching on, Mister Tonks offered his hand politely. Arcturus narrowed his eyes into frustrated disdain, but held his tongue as he reciprocated the gesture. "I can't say I've had the… pleasure, of meeting you, Mister Tonks. You hold yourself well in your position."

"Thank you, Lord Black. Your praise is much appreciated."

One by one, Sirius introduced Arcturus to the mostly-muggle group. It was entertaining to watch the proud pureblood act courteous towards muggles and muggleborns for the sake of family alliance, though Melissa held back from smiling too hard at his bigoted pain. After all, at least the man was making an effort. He did linger on the introduction to Harry, appraising the boy in his own way. To what end, Melissa could guess between being the Boy Who Lived and the son of a pureblood. Luckily, he only got one line in about the boy having 'a proper education befitting one of his status' before Sirius intervened and got the man to leave as amicably as possible.

As lunch progressed, the adults got back into legal talk. While they discussed ideas for the next phase of the trials, Melissa caught Harry's eyes, his head nudging to the side.

"Hey, mum, can Harry and I go exploring for a while?"

"Sure, dear."

"Not alone." Mister Tonks insisted. "It won't be safe here without an adult wizard."

Without missing a beat, Melissa turned to her former professor. "Mister Salvatore, can you come with us?"

"Certainly." He nodded, turning his eyes to the adults present. "I'll keep an eye on them." As they walked away from the group Melissa turned to her professor. However, he spoke before she could make any comment. "Don't worry, I'll keep my distance."

The girl blinked. Bemused, but with a hint of appreciation. "You are way too good at this."

The man smiled knowingly. "I would not be a professional otherwise."

"I'm sorry!"

It was the first thing Harry said after a long silence.

Melissa flicked her eyes to her friend, puzzled. "What for?"

He didn't return the look. Instead he closed his eyes briefly before gazing out at the ornamental fountain in the lobby. "I used to blame you ...for what happened with my uncle. ...If I had known you were feeling the same way…"

"What, you think you would change your mind because we agree on it?"

He met her eyes with small defiance. "What? No! I mean… maybe I wouldn't be as angry? You just… you always seem so carefree." He frowned with guilt. "I thought, maybe, if you knew you would laugh it off. Make it not seem like a big problem."

The girl breathed out heavily at the admission. "I guess I do tend to act like that, don't I?"

Harry offered her a small smile. "Just a little."

They stood silent a moment longer before Melissa could think of something else to say. "Well, I'll accept your apology, if you accept mine. I'm sorry for making your life worse with the Dursleys."

"I…" Harry paused. "I don't know if I believe that anymore. Chances are they would have hurt me like that eventually."

Melissa pressed her eyes closed at the suggestion. "No… no, they wouldn't have."

Harry didn't seem to have a retort to that one. They stood against the wall a while longer. Not sure of what to say.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"…What if Uncle Sirius ends up like them?"

Melissa turned to Harry with wide eyes. She needed a moment to unfreeze from the shock to reply. "As in… You think Sirius will hurt you?" Harry looked down with guilt, unanswering. "What brought this on?"

Harry's finger tapped along his leg. "Well, on Wednesday after… never mind, I'm being ridiculous."

Wednesday. Melissa's mind reeled, playing back the events of Wednesday. That was when Sirius and Snape fought. ...Specifically when Sirius punched Snape in the face and sent him and Harry sprawling on the stairs.

Oh, shit.

Suddenly the past 48 hours were making far too much sense.

"Harry." She spoke carefully, making a step and turning to face him fully. She waited until he met her eyes before speaking again. "Harry, what happened on Wednesday, that wasn't on you. That was between him and Professor Snape. Please- I know this is asking a lot, but please believe me when I say this. Sirius loves you. He doesn't want to hurt you, or to use you. He wants you to be his family.

"I know… I know you're scared. You have a damn good reason to be after everything that's happened. Just… Sirius isn't like that." She didn't know how else to say this. This was, well, pretty bad timing, all things considered. She just needs to make sure Harry believes it.

Harry shifted his eyes to the side, deep in thought, before meeting hers again. "You really believe that? Even though you don't always get along?" It wasn't an accusatory question. Harry seemed genuinely curious in knowing the answer.

Melissa offered him a reassuring smile. "He can be pigheaded at times, but I trust him."

That answer brought a bit of a smile out of Harry. With a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and squared his shoulders. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"I believe you. I won't let that thought hold me back."

Harry's turnaround caused Melissa to grin happily. She encased the boy in a hug, which he returned just as strongly. "Thank Merlin, Harry! You scared me half to death with that one!" She admitted. …Though that thought hadn't meant to be out loud.

Harry gave a nervous chuckle despite her relief. "Well, so long as you're absolutely sure, I'll try not to think about it."

Melissa peered sideways through the hug. A teasing smile on her face. "What? Just like that?"

"Well, I suppose I should put some trust in you." He let go from the hug, offering his own knowing and mischievous smile. "After all, I never did tell you how many presents Dudley got for his birthday."

Instantly, the smile wiped off Melissa's face. She blinked at Harry. Harry smiled on, knowingly. In that silence, Melissa's mouth opened with dawning horror.

"Pleasedon'ttellanyone!"

Harry straightened in surprise. "What?"

"Just, please, don't tell anyone. I didn't… forget I said all that."

Harry raised his brow at her sudden panic. "About knowing what he said? I don't see what the big deal is."

"I didn't know he said that." She lied, grasping.

"Uh-huh." Harry gave an amused smile. "You know, you say that, but you tend to say a lot of things. Jokes that will "make sense when we're older". Songs that haven't been written yet. And what was that thing you always say about yourself? Oh, right, I know everything."

Melissa shuddered a breath. "This isn't funny, Harry. It's not… It's not normal."

Harry didn't seem fazed by the reasoning. "Neither is changing colours without a wand or talking to snakes." He shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with having different magic, Melly."

"It is to me!"

"Why?"

"It's…" She took a breath, trying to collect her thoughts. "For one, it's not exact. It's all in pieces. I don't actually know everything. Just bits here and there. For another, I don't want every little thing I say to be put under a microscope like it's some kind of prophecy."

"Well, is it?" He asked curiously.

"Of course not!" She fumed.

"So... you don't know for certain that Sirius won't hurt me?" He considered.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "I know that he's not a malicious prick like the Dursleys. He's more likely to see you like a friend than a son, but the odds of him ever purposefully hurting you are practically nonexistent."

The two of them had a minor staring contest. Harry gauging her believability, Melissa willing her friend to trust the assessment.

"Fine." Harry breathed reluctantly. "But if he tries anything, I'm blaming you."

Melissa wasn't entirely sure if it was said in jest or not, but she knew there wasn't much to worry about with that. "Fair enough. If he tries anything, I'll deserve it." At the sound of a chime, the two of them turned towards the lunch area. "I suppose we should head back."

As they walked back to the main group, with Salvatore watching nearby, Harry piped up another conversation. "So… is there anything I should know? Like, in general?"

Like how you have a horcrux in your head? Like how the next seven years are set up to be a clusterfuck of death and danger for you?

Melissa walked on in silent pondering. Honestly, there are a lot of things he deserves to know. Practically nothing of which would set him at ease, though. Not to mention who knows what Dumbledore will do to her if he knows the truth.

"Well," she considered, "you actually do have another uncle like Sirius, except he's a werewolf."

"A WHAT?"

When they returned to the courtroom the next issue addressed at the hearing was Harry's future guardianship placement. It took a good two seconds for the natural order to go to chaos.

"If it pleases you, my lords, I wish to offer my hearth and home to young Mister Potter." Lucius Malfoy declared with an oily smile.

"Like hell." Sirius muttered under his breath. The rest of their group had the same sentiment.

Unfortunately for them, the panel allowed Malfoy to continue with his offer. An offer which included the wealth of the Malfoy family at his disposal, the care of a father and mother figure, and a purebred son as a companion of the same age for Harry to befriend. The offer was tempting to some purebloods. Too tempting, for some, as Nott seemed to take this idea at once and offer his own home to Harry under the same arguments. Fortunately, that hasty offer was met with haughty scoffs and chuckles, shaming the man into silence.

Once Sirius staked his own offer, complete with legal standing of the Potter will and testament, his godfather status, and the wealth of the Black family, the time came for deeper scrutiny.

"My lords, much as I respect Mister Black's place as Mister Potter's godfather, I do think it would be in the boy's interest if he were to have some time apart from him."

Sirius bristled at the suggestion, but it was Mister Tonks that spoke in his place. "A rather bold suggestion, Mister Malfoy, given your own lack of interaction with young Harry. I don't suppose you have a specific reason for such a suggestion?"

The blond man gave a predatory smirk. "I do. Though I suppose the answer would be best given by my source. Healer Hitchens-"

Harry visibly jumped at the call. His face was in alarm. "Harry?" Melissa called quietly to him.

"-if you would please tell the court about your conversation with Mister Potter?"

All eyes turned as the middle-aged woman stood from her seat in the audience. She moved closer to the Wizengamot, in line with the two arguing groups. She looked at Harry briefly with some small sense of guilt, but spoke to answer the question. "During his appointment, I noticed that Mister Potter seemed to show some… concern, around Mister Black. When he and I were alone in the room, Mister Potter confessed to me that Mister Black had been in a physical altercation the day before with Hogwarts' potions master. Though I can't say between them who would be the best guardian for Mister Potter, as a healer I do feel that it would not be healthy for a child to be living with a guardian who makes him feel unsafe."

"I didn't mean it!" Harry shouted. All eyes turned to Harry at that moment. He had risen from his seat loudly, practically knocking the chair to the floor. "I didn't mean it! I take it back! I was just… it happened so suddenly, and with all of the rushing for the hearing I got confused. I really do want to live with Uncle Sirius." Harry searched the court with pleading eyes. Begging the voting members to believe him. He also looked to Sirius, who appeared visibly hurt by the revelation. "I'm sorry, Uncle Sirius, I should have said something sooner. I shouldn't have worried so much."

"It's… it's alright, Harry." Sirius answered softly. Hesitantly, he lifted his hand, hovering it over Harry's shoulder. Harry leaned in ever so slightly. The action encouraged Sirius to gently place his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Guess I shouldn't have let Snivellus rile me up so much."

"My lords," Mister Tonks spoke loudly over the others, "I do find that Mister Potter's feelings on the matter should be taken into consideration, seeing as this is based on a personal conversation with his healer."

The lead judge and a nearby member whispered to each other briefly. The men then sat back in their seats. "We will take Mister Potter's opinion into consideration, as well as the testimony of Healer Hitchen." He answered with finality. "Mister Black, can you please explain why you had an altercation with a professor of all people?"

Taking a nervous breath, Sirius explained the conversation that led up to the fight with Snape. There were some reactions of sympathy or disapproval from the Wizengamot, but the vast majority held their faces neutral as he spoke. It was then that Arcturus Black spoke.

"Mister Black, you are currently seeking counsel by a mind healer, correct?"

"Yes grand- Lord Black. I have weekly appointments with Healer Marshhaven to help me recover from my time in Azkaban."

"From the trauma of false imprisonment." Mister Tonks added, his eyes flicking towards someone specific in the stands.

Lord Black nodded to the addition. "Perhaps we would do best to hear her professional opinion?"

Fortunately for them, Healer Marshhaven was in attendance at Sirius' request and had a good rapport with him to boot. The elderly witch's testimony wasn't a glowing review. Sirius was still suffering from nightmares and possessed a temper when the subject of Peter Pettigrew came up. That said, he was showing remarkable progress in physical recovery, strong effort on his mental recovery, and would speak warmly about his friends and Harry.

"Truthfully, I think living together would benefit both of them." The witch considered, adjusting her spectacles as she looked between the two wizards in question. "They have a shared past with troubling guardians and can bond in ways that a stranger wouldn't be able to as a guardian. Putting the boy with an unknown person would only put him in further distrust."

"With all due respect, Mister Black has only been acquainted with the boy for 6 days. That will be hardly a difference in time should he live with my family." Lucius argued with a slithering smile.

"We have to do something about him." Melissa muttered to Mister Tonks.

"Don't worry," the man flicked a quick smile, "I already have a plan."

The healer, meanwhile, seemed to be hiding the urge to scoff. "With all due respect," her tone matched, "Mister Black was close with Harry and his family for the first 18 months of his life. That, coupled with his connection to the boy's parents, brings him much closer in a familial relationship than a merely distant blood connection."

There were more questions to the healer from the court and wizards in attendance. Ultimately she remained staunchly pro-Sirius, though it was hard to determine if that swayed the judges.

"Before we conclude things," Mister Tonks intervened in a silent moment, "I would like to ask Mister Malfoy a few questions."

At the judge's nod, Mister Tonks proceeded. Lucius remained standing, cool and collected. Ready to take on the man's questions.

"Mister Malfoy, can you please offer to the court the name of the last muggle that has been a guest of Malfoy Manor?"

There was a silence that came with that question. No more than a squeak of wooden seats adjusting to observe the line of questioning.

Lucius tried and nearly failed to keep the smile on his face. "…Perhaps I've misunderstood, Mister Tonks. You wish to know…"

"The name of the last muggle who has been a guest of Malfoy Manor." Edward Tonks restated.

Lucius narrowed his eyes a fraction, but kept his voice even. "Forgive me, but I can't recall a name to mind. My family does well to uphold the Statute, you see."

"Ah, of course. Though I take it that none of your colleagues have ever brought their muggle spouses in arm to any social gatherings your family has hosted?"

"No." He answered with disdain. "They have not."

"Ah, pity. Then, could you please offer the name of the last muggleborn guest you have had as a guest at Malfoy Manor?"

There were a few whispers, then, as people started to realize where these questions were heading.

"I… can't say I recall, I'm afraid."

"How strange. Not in your whole life? Perhaps as a guest of your father, Abraxas Malfoy?"

"I don't see how these questions are relevant." Lucius shot against the new questions.

"I suppose you wouldn't." Edward Tonks smirked knowingly. "I am determining your ability to function as Harry's guardian."

"The boy has been abused by muggles." Lucius pointed out.

"By his relatives. Yes. But he has also been fed and nurtured by muggles of the Bennett family."

"Who have a witch in the family."

"Who nurtured him over a year before learning about magic, and continued to care for him long after learning of his magic." Mister Tonks fired back. "Though, once he moves to Malfoy Manor, it's quite clear that he will be cut off from any interaction with his muggle friends and benefactors. I daresay it's hard to imagine how a child could go through any sort of healing when his only friends are suddenly cut out from his life. It's doubly concerning when one considers that his godfather has been rejected by your wife's relatives for being a so-called blood traitor."

"You're putting words in my mouth, Tonks." Lucius bit harshly. His cool composure was gone almost entirely.

"Does that mean you are willing to happily host muggles in your home for the time that Harry Potter lives in your care?" There came a moment of silence as Lucius struggled to answer. "I'm certain that your son will get on quite well with their son, Jeffrey. He and Harry are quite close."

Lucius Malfoy looked positively offended at the idea. He seemed to be battling the decision in his mind. Will he taint his legacy with muggle associations for the gain of the Boy Who Lived, or uphold his standing among pureblood circles?

"I thought not." Edward Tonks answered with finality.

It won't matter what Malfoy says at this point. Melissa found. Either way, he's finished.

"It's time we put this matter to a vote." The lead judge announced, covering what would have been an awkward silence. "All those in favour of guardianship being awarded to Lucius Malfoy?" A show of hands appeared, though Melissa found the total was less than a quarter. "All those in favour of guardianship being awarded to Sirius Black?" More hands appeared. This time, though it seemed to be little more than half. "All of those abstaining?" The rest of the hands emerged.

"The matter has been settled, then." The judge sat back with a nod of finality. "The court has determined that Harry Potter will be placed under the guardianship of his godfather, Sirius Black. Mister Potter, Mister Black, congratulations to you both." With that the gavel struck, and the day was won.