The end and aftermath of the trial.

Notice I didn't make you wait for weeks this time.

LILY XXXVII

She waited outside Courtroom Ten as the Wizengamot decided the fate of her son. It had been a while since the hearing began. Almost right after Harry walked into the courtroom and the door closed behind him, Dumbledore had arrived, with someone Lily didn't expect. Susan Bones. Dumbledore had walked in, leaving the girl outside with Lily as he went to assure Harry's defence. Lily had been relieved beyond extent when he arrived. The best chance Harry had was that Dumbledore was there to defend him. And the fact that Susan was present only meant one thing: she was going to testify. Someone would be there to confirm Harry's story about the Dementors.

Lily and Susan had waited together for a short time. The girl looked quite apprehensive. Given that she was about to testify in front of the Wizengamot, Lily could understand. And if her aunt was present, this was another layer of apprehension to add. Lily asked her how she was doing, but her son's girlfriend really wasn't talkative today. Now that Lily thought about that, she seldom talked to this girl. But she confided to Lily that her parents were not aware that she was here, that she contacted Dumbledore in secret to come to the Ministry today. Given the extraordinary circumstances, Lily didn't blame the girl for disobeying her father and mother. Then she left when Dumbledore brought her in to testify.

Very soon after, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge and Amelia Bones came out. Without giving her much attention, they left for another courtroom where they locked themselves in. Dumbledore joined not long after, quickly telling Lily on his way that things were going well. He went back to Courtroom Ten a little while later, followed by the three people who she understood were her son's interrogators for his hearing, who again didn't say a word to her. Time went on, and Lily waited.

At some point, an interdepartmental memo left the courtroom. And a few minutes later, Mafalda Hopkirk, the woman working at the Improper Use of Magic Office, came from the stairs leading to the lift. When she saw Lily at the door, she seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she simply continued her way and entered the courtroom. A little while later, another memo again went out, and a few minutes were needed for Alan Atwater, the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office and superior of Mafalda Hopkirk, to arrive and walk into the courtroom without a word for Lily. Then she waited again.

They had been inside for very long. Maybe she should have expected something like this from Fudge. He wanted to condemn Harry so badly. She wondered why she didn't see something like that coming. But really, convoking the entire Wizengamot for this? That was a stretch.

Lily then heard another set of footsteps coming down the stairs from the ninth level. A man with very long blond hair, a cane and sumptuous black clothes and cape slowly emerged from the darkness. Lily gripped her wand in her pocket. She always despised Lucius Malfoy, but now that he was officially back at Voldemort's service, she expected anything to happen when he was around.

"Well, look at this…" he softly said, a smirk on his face. He subtly looked around without moving his face. "A Mudblood waiting after her brood."

She wouldn't let this man make her lose her ways. "At least, I'm here for my son. I wonder if you would be here if it was your son, Lucius. Or if you would disown him for shaming your family name. Or if you would rather pay people to get him cleared."

Lucius Malfoy smirked further. "Unlike you, Evans, I have the means to protect my family."

"Even from Lord Voldemort." She watched in satisfaction as the man recoiled at the mention of the name. "What? Afraid of your master's name? I would have thought you were on a first name basis with him, considering how close you're supposed to be."

"Be careful, Evans. Someone could hear you," he warned.

"Hear what? That you are a coward unable to hear the name of the man you worship?"

"No, I was saying it because… I could remember it very well, the day you will find yourself in trouble."

Lily scoffed. "If something ever dreadful truly happens to me, I doubt you will have a single thing to say about it, Lucius. I wonder… how your master reacted when he saw how you became respectable to a government hiring people like me."

Malfoy looked at her in disgust. "And I wonder what you will say when all your supposed allies will abandon you, when they will be as disgusted as they should be of your presence."

"If you're so disgusted, then you're welcome to leave. Anyway, I don't see what you're doing here."

"My business is none of your concern, Evans, I'm afraid."

"In fact, it is. I am an Auror, Lucius. And you're trespassing in an area of the Ministry where people are not allowed. Since you're not an employee, I could decide to escort you back to the exit."

Malfoy laughed. "You know there would be consequences for that."

"Maybe, but at the very least I would get to kick you out of the Ministry in view of everybody. I think it would be humiliating for you enough to warrant the problems."

Lucius Malfoy looked at her in an even more disgusting way. "You act all proud, Mudblood. But I know your kind. I know you will hide like the scum you are when the time comes. Like you and your husband did last time. And we know what happened then."

This time, Lily was boiling with rage. "I defend you from talking about my husband."

"Yes, your husband. A traitor to his blood who married a filthy Mudblood."

The door to the courtroom opened at this moment to let Dumbledore come out, a satisfied expression on his face. He then saw that both Lily and Lucius were there, but he remained calm and headed towards the enemy.

"In your place, Lucius, I would leave and wait for Cornelius elsewhere. Let him calm down a little, or else you will have to calm him down yourself. I'm afraid he's had no shortages of bad news this morning."

And he just walked past her and Malfoy. The door of the courtroom opened again. Lily turned to see her son emerge. His expression was impossible to decipher.

"Well?" Lily asked him, her heart beating hard.

And then he smiled nervously. "Cleared. Of all charges."

Lily laughed nervously, and she hugged her boy. But then she remembered who was there, and that the last time he and his son were in the same place together was when Voldemort returned.

"Let's leave this place," she said, almost grabbing her son by the arm to force him to follow her, right when the door of the courtroom was reopening. Lily didn't give it a single glance and ignored Malfoy on their way up.

"I'll bring you back to the headquarters," she said as she pressed the button of the lift. It stopped in a loud noise. "You can tell everyone the good news. But before, you've got to tell me everything that happened."

In the thirty minutes required to leave the ninth level of the Ministry and come back to Grimmauld Place, Harry summarized what happened during the trial his disciplinary hearing. Harry had to convince the Wizengamot that he was indeed attacked by Dementors. However, Fudge barely allowed him to place a few words. This is where Susan had been very helpful. Her testimony proved that Harry was telling the truth. From his reaction that Harry reported, Fudge did not expect at all the niece and goddaughter of the Head of his Department of Magical Law Enforcement to testify, and the Wizengamoit seemingly had no reason to doubt her word as a result. However, things had almost collapsed when Dolores Umbridge, one of Fudge's closest advisor, interrogated the young girl and accused her of lying to protect her boyfriend. Then Fudge declared in front of the whole Wizengamot that they had proof Susan had been lying from the very beginning, for her Trace, which detected all uses of magic in her vicinity, did not report any use of magic around the time they were attacked by Dementors. Something her Trace would have if she had been there. According to Harry, the Wizengamot was ready to condemn him at this moment, furious that his girlfriend willingly lied to them.

But Dumbledore had intervened, asking that the employee who had been in charge of Harry's file at the Improper Use of Magic Office was interrogated. Fudge opposed it, but Dumbledore then revealed to the Wizengamot how Harry's case had been mismanaged from the very beginning, the Ministry initially announcing him that not only he was expelled from Hogwarts, when the Ministry had no authority to do such a thing, but that his wand would also be destroyed shortly, when the law clearly forbade the Ministry from doing so without proving the charges following a judicial process. Apparently, this got the Wizengamot quite interested, and despite Fudge's protests, Amelia Bones summoned Mafalda Hopkirk. From then, things started to crumble for Fudge.

Mafalda Hopkirk, under questioning, quickly revealed that Harry's Trace was not the only one to activate on that night at the same place. Another Trace from another underage person reported the same spells as his, in the same position and at the same time. Finally pressed, Hopkirk acknowledged that Susan Bones' Trace indeed reported the same use of magic. According to Harry, Amelia Bones had looked furious after that, as people in her department hid information that was pertinent for Harry's hearing. Mafalda, though, swore that she transmitted the information to the head of her service, Alan Atwater, and that he said he would take care of this. So Atwater was summoned as well. He initially stated that nothing suggested that Susan Bones used magic that night. But under more specific questions from Amelia, he finally revealed that indeed, her Trace did indicate the same magic at the same place and hour as Harry's Trace, but that he didn't transmit the information to the Wizengamot Administration Services nor to the Head of Department's office, because he viewed it as useless information. Amelia then blamed him as his actions caused the Minister to provide inaccurate information to the Wizengamot as part of a judicial process, and apparently the Wizengamot was quite upset at the man as well. After that, the hearing had gone pretty smoothly. Amelia asked a few more questions to Harry, mostly asking him if, knowing the consequences for him, he would still use magic if he found himself again in the same situation. Harry had answered by the affirmative, and the Wizengamot had proceeded to a vote. A large majority decided to clear Harry of all charges, only a few like Fudge and Umbridge voting for his condemnation.

Hald an hour later, they were all assembled in the dining of the number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, with all of Harry's friends, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny hugging him, tapping his back.

"I knew it!" Ron punched in the air in a triumphant way.

"They were bound to clear you. There was no case against you. Not at all," Hermione was saying nervously.

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I would get off," Harry said, smiling, eliciting laughter from Lily and many other people around.

The adults too were overjoyed. Molly used an apron to wipe her tears of happiness. Remus and Sirius patted Harry on the back as well. As for Lily, she watched from afar. For the first time in weeks, her son really looked happy. Slowly, her body seemed to acknowledge that this was all over. That Harry would not be expelled or forbidden from practicing magic for the rest of his life. Though in truth, nothing was over. She knew that outside, preparations for war continued, and that as soon as she would cross the doorway, she would be plunged into that world once more.

"I'm afraid I cannot stay," she told Remus and Sirius, who had come to talk to her more closely. "I've got to get back to work. I've been already absent for too long. But before, you should know that we came across Lucius Malfoy on our way out."

"Really?" Remus asked, worried all of a sudden.

"At the tenth level, where Harry's hearing took place. He might only have been spying to know what Harry's sentence would have been, but… We all know that the tenth level can only be accessed by the ninth."

The three of them knew what it meant. "Who's guarding it right now?" Sirius whispered between the three of them for no one else to hear.

"Sturgis," Remus answered. "We will ask him what he saw when he comes back from duty." He cast a glance from the side. The twins were beginning to look oddly at them as they kept whispering. "Better join the festivities now."

Molly was indeed serving lunch, and they all joined, having a very good time for the first time in a while. The future looked bright once more, if only for a few hours. Sadly, Lily had to go back to the Ministry after that. She was back to work, after all.

As she crossed the corridors of the Ministry, she felt the usual pairs of eyes and whispers in her back. She ignored them, like she always did, and went to the Auror Headquarters where a lot of work was certainly waiting for her. And indeed, the pile of letters and memos on her desk was quite substantive. They must have accumulated during her leave. She proceeded to open and read them. Some concerned minor cases she contributed to, at least in theory. Many of the other Aurors sidelined her now, since the medias discredited Dumbledore and her son. There were also memos for general information addressed to all employees of the Ministry or the department. A few people, including Kingsley and Nymphadora, discreetly congratulated her for Harry's verdict. She had to be halfway through the pile when someone interrupted her for real though.

"Excuse me, Lily," Gen Chang, the personal assistant of Rufus Scrimgeour, said from over the walls of her cubicle.

"Hi, Gen," she said, all smiling. Whatever the future held, she was overjoyed by Harry escaping a sentence, and nothing could ruin her good mood today.

"Yeah, by the way, I'm happy that your son got off from this accusation. Really, that's a relief. My daughter herself thought the whole thing was stupid."

"Well, this is over. Everything is fine now."

"Madam Bones asked me to give you the message that she wants to see you in her office right away."

Lily frowned. There could be many reasons why Amelia would ask to see her. She only didn't know which one exactly.

"I'll go there right now," she said.

Lily left her cubicle and went to the office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her assistant told her to wait for Madam Bones in her office as she had not arrived yet.

Lily walked into the office and closed the door behind her. Indeed, it was empty. It wasn't the first time she came into this office. It hadn't changed since the last time. She waited for probably ten minutes before finally Amelia Bones arrived with another woman. Lily had crossed the path of this woman in the morning. She had walked into the courtroom where Harry's hearing was taking place, and she was also the employee who sent the letter announcing that his wand would be destroyed after the Dementors attacked him.

"Evans. I think you already know Mafalda," Amelia said. "She wanted to tell you something."

Mafalda Hopkirk looked at Lily, an ashamed expression on her face. "Mrs Evans… I want to apologize. Personally, and also for the entire Office for which I work. We… I don't know how the use of magic of your son got out of hands this way. I swear that I tried to deal with it the best I could, but… I'm sorry. None of this should ever have happened."

Lily gauged the woman in front of her. She seemed sincere in her apology, and truthfully, in regard of what Harry told her about the trial, Lily thought that she was telling the truth.

"Is that too much to ask that you do your work better the next time?" Lily demanded from the woman.

"No, it's not," Mafalda replied immediately. "We will."

"Then that's enough for me. I don't want to see my son accused under false charges again in the future."

Hopkirk nodded, then looked to Amelia who indicated she could leave. She did, leaving Lily with the head of the department.

"Mafalda is not the only one who owes you an apology, Evans," Madam Bones said, taking place behind her office and inviting Lily to sit down in front of her. "We all owe you one. The behaviour of my employees and my department in this case was unacceptable, and the treatment of your son totally unfair during the whole process."

"With all due respect, Madam Bones, it is my son who deserves to receive apologies," Lily retorted in the kindest way she could. Amelia had almost ensured by herself that Harry got a fair trial, so she didn't blame her, but she couldn't refrain herself from feeling the Ministry treated her son totally unfairly, and one of its representatives was right there in front of her.

Amelia nodded in agreement. "I already suspended Atwater. I'm going to take measures against him. His handling of your son's case, the way he broke the law and almost compromised the whole disciplinary hearing, is unacceptable. This is at least complete incompetence, at worst criminal."

"And I see that unlike Mafalda, he didn't come to apologize."

"No, he didn't," Amelia answered on an even tone.

"Forgive me for being so blunt, but there are people inside the Ministry, even inside this department, who would be ready to do anything to get rid of my son."

Amelia slightly tilted her head. "This is a serious accusation you are making. And I'm taking it very seriously. However, there is something I do not understand in this story, Evans." She had taken back her severe expression. "Why didn't you inform me that your son and my niece were assaulted by Dementors that night?"

That was a good question, indeed. Now, Lily had to acknowledge she should have warned people inside the Ministry. However, there was a very good reason for her behaviour.

"Would the Ministry have taken such allegations seriously? Especially if they came from me or Harry? Because from what my son told me of his hearing, the Ministry was not even disposed to listen to him."

"Maybe," Amelia conceded, "but I would have. Especially since my niece was involved."

From the look in Amelia's eyes, Lily saw the head of department took something personally for the first time. This woman never talked about her family. Even when Harry started seeing her niece, she continued treating Lily exactly the same way as before.

"Your brother had not told you?" Lily asked.

"No, he didn't," Amelia replied, obviously upset about this too. "From what my sister-in-law said when she came here to bring my niece back home, it seems that they don't really trust the Ministry either."

Now Lily wondered whether it was people's mistrust towards the Ministry, even from her family and employees, that angered Amelia Bones so much. Lily thought about asking Amelia about Susan. She had grabbed Harry and distanced him from the courtroom right after he came out, preventing him from seeing his girlfriend before he left. But she wasn't sure. Amelia Bones didn't enjoy talking about her family with colleagues.

"I'm going to launch a complete investigation on the aggression," Amelia informed her. "I could have launched it sooner if someone told me what truly happened that night before today." Lily had to concede this was true. "But now… I need to ask you something, Evans. I suppose you believe, like most people probably do, that your son was attacked by Dementors under the orders from someone outside the Ministry, don't you?"

"I think so," Lily replied, knowing that Amelia avoided mentioning Voldemort directly.

"Since June, I have increased the surveillance and security measures around Azkaban. I am not preposterous enough to actually believe no one could reach the Dementors with those new measures I implemented, but I think it unlikely that someone from the exterior got access to the Dementors directly."

"It could be someone inside the Ministry," Lily advanced, "who was obeying the orders of someone on the outside."

"Possible. Dumbledore raised a possibility during the hearing. That someone in the Ministry did send those Dementors, without being influenced by any outside force."

"Yes, he told me about it."

"However, there is another possibility, and it makes me quite uneasy."

"What is it?"

"That your son wasn't the target of this attack."

Amelia's declaration was followed by a complete silence. Her gaze showed that she was dead serious. Lily needed some time to understand what the woman sitting in front of her meant. "Wait… You believe that Susan, your niece, might have been the target?"

"I cannot dismiss this possibility. I believe it is unlikely, but not impossible. I already advised my brother and his wife to make sure their daughter was safe. I suggest you do the same for your son."

Lily nodded after a moment. "Yes, of course."

She had already put her son into safety. Of course, she couldn't tell Amelia where he was. She literally couldn't, even if she had wanted. But something else bothered her now. Was it possible that Susan had been targeted by this attack and not Harry? The Order had not considered this. Perhaps they should. Now that Lily thought about it, her son's girlfriend was the niece of one of the most powerful and influential witches in the United Kingdom, and one of the last surviving members of a great family that was largely wiped out by Voldemort during the previous war. So yes, she might be a target. Though she failed to see why Voldemort would send Dementors after her and not Harry. To indirectly harm him by attacking someone her son cared about? Was Voldemort even aware of Harry's relationship with the girl? Perhaps everybody close to her son was in danger now. Or… If someone in the Ministry did this, could it be directed at Amelia herself? Someone with something against her who would be cruel and rash enough to release Dementors on her niece? A few days ago, it seemed clear that Voldemort was behind the attack, but now…

"Sadly, Evans, this brings us to another subject, which I would rather not have broached."

Amelia's face had entirely changed. Now regrets were visible on her face.

"I had a discussion with Fudge and Scrimgeour following your son's hearing. And I'm afraid your time at the Ministry of Magic is over."

Lily frowned. For a moment, she said nothing. "You're firing me?"

"Both Scrimgeour and Fudge agreed on that."

How did Lily feel right now? She had no idea. Truth be told, she expected that to happen. With the campaign of smearing against her son and Fudge's outright hostility towards her, she knew it was only a matter of time. But the woman facing her seemed to regret it.

"Listen, Evans," she went on, "your position here has become more of a hindrance than anything else. No one in the Ministry is providing you any information that might be useful, and you've been taken off any case that matters. You will have way more capacity to pursue other ventures if you no longer work as an Auror."

Lily understood what this woman meant. She wasn't useful for the Order as a spy inside the Ministry, and she wasn't useful as an Auror either when she was relegated to menial tasks. The only major case she worked on, unofficially, was the search of Bartemius Crouch Junior. Yesterday, she had secretly met his father again, during which he gave her more information on the potential whereabouts of his son. This was the only real investigation she was conducting.

"What about the ventures I am already pursuing outside my line of work?" she asked.

"Keep following them. I'll brief Savage about it. She will know what to do," Amelia said.

"I guess I must leave now?" Lily asked half disappointed, half relieved.

"It's probably for the best. But before…" Amelia produced a piece of parchment. She hesitated a moment before placing it in front of Lily with a feather. "I regret, Evans, but the Minister is quite angry after the results of this morning's hearing. He's angry after one of his assistants for hiding to him that he knew about my niece and your son's relationship. He's angry at Dolores for placing him in a delicate situation. He is especially angry at you, Dumbledore and your son. But he's also angry at me. My niece testified for your son, after all. I told the Minister that I could convince you to resign instead of having to fire you. If you accept, you will get the equivalent of one year of your current salary in compensation."

Lily thought she understood. Amelia used this to preserve her situation with Fudge. "Can I refuse? Fudge must know that I don't lack money." She was of a mind to force Cornelius Fudge to fire her, creating a little scandal by the same occasion. Lily's image might have been tarnished, but the Potter name still inspired respect and even admiration for many people.

"You may refuse, Evans. I will not stop you. If you want to make life more difficult for Fudge, this is your right. Still… I don't think you will achieve much with such a refusal."

Lily thought about that. Indeed, Fudge would certainly quickly rebound from this. And he would not forget Amelia failed to calm her employee.

Lily had respect for Amelia, and she was probably the best person to have in command of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, especially right now. Fudge didn't seem to have many doubts about her, for now. But considering how Fudge recently behaved, he might be stupid enough to fire his most important head of department, especially after her niece got Harry acquitted.

And so, deciding what was best for the upcoming war, Lily signed the offer. With a stroke of a pen, she was no longer an Auror of the Ministry of Magic. She was back to where she was when she left Hogwarts. She was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, one of the few battlements against Voldemort's approaching threat.

I know this chapter probably didn't have the format you expected, or even hoped for. You certainly expected that I would continue showing the trial in details. And you wouldn't be wrong since this was my initial plan. The truth is that lost motivation while writing this long chapter, so I used Lily's chapter of the aftermath to summarize what happened after the cliffhanger. Don't worry, that kind of thing is not going to happen all the time.

Please review.

Next chapter: Hermione