Hey, has anyone read Lowten's "A Stitch in Time"? I love that fic! It is amazingly well-written, in my opinion, and I think everyone should check it out.
A/N: Review responses!
Guest: That's a totally fair viewpoint. From Chapter 2, as you'll see sprinkled through the earlier chapters, my phone broke right when I began this little project. That's what I use to write with, as I don't have a computer. It made things very difficult, but I didn't want to stop until I had a plot I could step away from and come back to and know what was going on and where I was going.
Steve2668: Please reread the review above.
I find it encouraging that the only criticism I have come across was from when I was first doing this.
I plan to rewrite the first few chapters when I am done with the main plot of the story.
Our story restarts on the kind of overcast, dreary day people so often associate with London and the United Kingdom as a whole. Clouds filled the sky, a steady drizzle filled the streets, and it was generally agreed that the day was going to be a long and unhappy one, especially for anyone who works outside.
It was 6:00 in the morning on August the 7th, and there were two children awake. That two children were awake at six in the morning was odd enough, but this strange happenstance barely scratched the surface of the oddities. Hermione Granger, the almost thirteen-year-old girl, was already being hailed as the brightest witch of her generation and the most powerful magical muggle-born witch of her age on record. But that paled in comparison to the boy sitting across from her at the kitchen table, somberly munching on toast: Harry Potter. Harry Potter was weird, even by wizarding standards. Short, skinny for his age, and unassuming in his bearing, yet the boy was famous for having destroyed the darkest dark wizard in the history of the British Isles when he was but a baby. A quiet boy whose abilities no one could pin down, not even his teachers, and yet everyone expected great things to come from the boy. Harry knew the public expectations from reading modern history books, articles, and even a small series of children's books that stopped publication when he turned 8.And if the young man was honest with himself and suppressed his humility, he could admit that things were likely to head in the direction of what the public wanted. Already in his short existence as a wizard, he had fought and killed a full-grown mountain troll, took the second-place spot in their test scores and the first-place spot on the practical exams for first years, discovered Slytherin's long-hidden chamber, tamed a basilisk, worked alongside two other first years to pass through a series of deadly obstacles to rescue the Philosopher's Stone from the semi-resurrected hands of that same dark wizard he had supposedly destroyed as an infant. Yes, Harry Potter was a very strange and gifted young man, and he was awake with his friend Hermione at a very strange hour because of the very strange circumstances of the day: a hearing, a full hearing in front of the Wizengamot. His nerves and anxiety prevented him from getting any form of rest after the boy had woken up several hours ago for the loo and, growing coherent enough to realize what waking up meant for the day, he had been unable to fall back asleep. He knew that Mr. Tonks would be around to collect him before the hearing; he was regretting not asking his solicitor for an itinerary, for Harry had no clue when the old man was going to be there. So Harry found himself sitting at the Granger family's kitchen table, staring at and unable to eat the simple honey-laden porridge that Hermione had made for him to eat. Hermione's parents were dentists, so the presence of sugar was a very rare occurrence in their house. And so Harry sat, his stomach in nervous knots, listening to Hermione fill the tense air with speculation on the next school year that would begin in less than a month. Harry appreciated that she was trying to distract him, but he knew it wouldn't work. After 12 years, Harry might finally get what he had always wanted: to be free of his aunt and uncle. Harry was currently deep in thought, remembering the long and painful hours he had spent in his cupboard as a child, crying alone, wanting nothing more than for his aunt to hold him like she did Dudley. Wanting the painful loneliness to be gone. Wanting nothing but the love and attention his classmates, first in nursery school then primary school, got from their Parents. He remembered the sad revelation in his third year of primary school when his uncle had actually beaten him for the first time: that his relatives would never love him or treat him even as a human. The realization that he was little more than an animal to his uncle, and his aunt thought little better of him. After that, he dreamed of just leaving, that some unknown relative would come and rescue him. But none ever did, and he gave that dream up as well, and Harry realized that he didn't really remember much between then and when he had started Hogwarts. That was most likely, Harry realized, when the potions and spells must have begun. The words rang out in Harry's mind tauntingly this time, and not as jovial as they had originally sounded from the old man. "I don't need a cloak to become invisible."
Time passed slowly for Harry. Hermione had fallen silent after a time, probably realizing that not even the next school year and continuing their academic rivalry would distract Harry at all in the current situation. So she opted to sit with him and comfort him in silence, trying futilely to get him to eat.
It was at eight o'clock sharp that Harry, Hermione, and her parents, who had come down and sat with the two children in silence, heard a soft crack and then a quick series of knocks on the backdoor of the Granger town house. Hermione shot up to answer the door. She opened it to reveal Ted Tonks in a pin-striped clock and three-piece suit. For the first time, Harry saw Mr. Tonks as the veteran lawyer he was. The older man was quite intimidating when he wanted to be, and Harry saw something that made him yell in elation as he practically jumped over the kitchen table. "SMARA!" He reached Mr. Tonks and didn't even acknowledge him before reaching his hand out and allowing the long serpent to wrap herself around his arm and then around his neck, settling there to look him deep in the eyes. The entire kitchen was silent except for a sultry hissing coming from two different voices. The four other occupants in the room shivered in response to the noise.
"Smaragdine! I've missed you! I had wondered where you went to. I could feel you sunning yourself through the bond but couldn't tell where you were. I figured Hedwig took you to my friend Ron's house out in the country!" Harry spoke this with pure elation in his voice, excited to have his partner back with him.
"No, silly boy, I was taken to your cousins house by that excitable owl of yours. I only revealed myself to them yesterday evening when I sensed the rain coming. It's a cold rain and would make me drowsy being out in it. Plus, I knew that today was your hearing, and I wanted to be with you. If the old ones refuse your freedom and safety, I will stare them down in my full glory until they change their minds." Smara pressed the top of her scaly head to Harry's forehead.
With the reunion finished, Harry finally turned his attention to his solicitor. "Hello, Mr. Tonks. What's the plan for the day?"
"Well, I thought we could stay here and hash everything out over breakfast if we haven't eaten already?" Ted looks at the adults, Hermione, and then to the still-full bowl of porridge. "Ahhh." He looks at Harry. "Too nervous to eat, then? Would you drink a few sips of a calming draught? I always bring some along for a client on the day of the trial."
"Err... no, sir, I'd prefer to deal with things myself. Given the past few years, I'm rather wary of potions that affect my mind," Harry said hesitantly.
"Right then, well, let's begin. To start with your hearing, Harry, it will begin at 11:30. Now, I took the liberty of having this house connected to the Floo Network temporarily. Of course, there is a high-value individual staying here, and the fact that there are two magicals here as well for now clears enough requirements for an exemption. So, we will head out at 10:30 through the Floo Network to the Ministry Atrium. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, as Muggles, you will have to be guided by a magical through the Floo, which Miss Granger and I should be able to accomplish swiftly. As I understand it, you two wish to give in-person testimony to the Wizengamot and support for Harry?"
"Yes, that's right. What entails going through the Floo? It's fire transport, right?" Mrs. Granger said, sounding hesitant about the idea.
"It's simple enough." Mr. Tonks looks at Harry and Hermione. "Have either of you gone through the Floo Network before?" At the shake of both children's heads, the older man seemed slightly awkward. "Ah, well then I might have to enlist my wife for assistance just so nothing goes wrong. She was just going to meet us there, but if you're going through the Floo for the first time, it's best done by yourself."
It's a relatively simple process, however." He pulls a small porcelain pot out of his pocket and lifts the lid, revealing a greyish-green powder. "You approach a lit fireplace, take a large pinch of this powder, throw it in the flame; it will then turn a green color. You call out the name of your destination. In our case, it will be "Ministry of Magic Atrium." You then step into the fire and will be whisked away to your location. It's important to note that you should not fidget too much or throw yourself around and to keep your arms tucked to your sides and your legs straight, very much like you're going down a very, very tall and steep water slide. The Floo Network itself will guide you to your destination as long as you allow it to. As you acclimatize to it, you won't need to tuck yourself in so much; most older witches and wizards can simply walk in and walk out, barely breaking their stride." Mr. Tonks stands and gestures for everyone to stand. "If you can show me to your fire, I'll demonstrate by bringing my wife in."
"Oh," Mrs. Granger said, "of course, this way, just through the door here." And the group moved through the house and surrounded the Granger fireplace.
With a wave of Mr. Tonks' wand, the fireplace enlarged to where he could easily stand in it. He looked at the amazed looks on the Grangers' faces. "A simple spatial distortion spell makes small things big and big things small, but they will go back to normal without harming the structure after about twelve hours. Today shouldn't quite take that long." With that, he cast a quick Incendio to light the fire and then took a pinch of powder, threw it in, and called out, "Tonks place!" before stepping in and disappearing in a whirl of emerald green fire. It was about two minutes later that Mr. and Mrs. Tonks stepped out of the fire. "And there we go, simple and safe. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, my wife, Healer Andromeda Tonks."
The two dentists looked at the regal bearing and aristocratic features of the middle-aged woman in front of them, and both of them knew they were looking at a very highborn woman. They could also tell that this healer was most likely the most dangerous person in the room.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Tonks. I must say, you picked a very impressive man to marry. I understand that you are also related to Harry?"
"Yes, we are...fifth cousins, I believe. I'm not sure. Family is family to the Blacks. If you're any type of aunt, you're an aunt. Any type of cousin, you're a cousin. It's easier to address and remember without offending, which was especially important in the family I was raised in. I am not aware if your daughter has spoken about the reputation of the Black family." Andromeda spoke with a smooth and even regal-sounding voice that Harry knew she had been trained to use for formal occasions. It was a mark of how important she placed meeting his friends' family, not a method of intimidation.
"I can't say that Hermione has spoken at all of a family with that name. A lot was spoken about a French name, mal...something."
"Malfoy," Hermione interjected hotly. Her mother looked at Hermione before continuing. "Malfoy, yes, but not Black. Is your family important in the magical world?"
"It was some 25 years ago. It's now nearly defunct. The only named Black now living will most likely die in prison. My family liked to believe they were a cut above the rest of every other human on the planet, and the family had the resources to make it seem so—not that that mattered to me. To my parents, my impressive and darling husband was a worm. They disowned me when I announced my engagement, not that it mattered to me. My cousin Sirius and I were called the white sheep of the Black family, the only two with a bit of sense in our skulls. But enough about me. My husband tells me that he was explaining the plans for the day."
"Yes, and we need to hurry. It's almost 9:30 now, and we have several last-minute things to discuss."
I have purposely left Harry relatively in the dark about the proceedings of this hearing so that he can rest and not stress over everything, but now I'll need to update him about a few things that have happened in the time since he was hospitalized. To begin with, Madam Bones has done three things. The first being that she promised support in your bid for emancipation. The second is that she has levied official charges against Vernon Dursley for several things, the worst being attempted murder of a Lord of the Crown. I know she's going to argue for actual murder since Harry's heart stopped beating several times when they were working on him.
And the third is that she has levied similar charges against Dumbledore in a very public way. She waited until yesterday when he was let out of jail for the altercation between you and him at the Dursley residence, then she re-arrested him in the middle of the Ministry Atrium, yelling every single charge levied against him for the entire hall to hear.
The next bit of related news is that both trials will happen today. The Wizengamot fast-tracked Dumbledore's first trial, which is actually happening right now. It was determined that you didn't need to testify; I was able to do that on your behalf, just turning some evidence over. This first trial is just to decide if he was guilty of child endangerment and any "high crimes or misdemeanors." It's a trial to determine if he needs to be removed from his positions of Chief Warlock and, most importantly, Headmaster of a school full of children. When I was excused from the proceeding to come and retrieve you, I can tell you it wasn't going well for him at all. Just the preceding events of your last school year, as evidenced by the memories you gave me, Harry, were enough to bury his career in education at the least. His next trial is far more personal to you, Harry, and will happen after your trial and after the Dursleys' trial.
the next bit of news is that i was able to accuire certain evidence from gringots pertaining to money coming monthly from ypur trust vualt Harry and being moved through several fronts and then beimg put into the dursleys bank account for "upkeep" was all was listed the bank was abke to trace these withdrawals to dumbledore only each transaction was for 1000 galleons and at 50 pounds to the galleon 50,000 pounds wich we can all say is far far to much for the upkeep on any child but especially the given the treatment given to mr. potter here. on top of that i subpoenaed the dursley bank records and they only reveived 1000 pounds a month wich is still a rediculous ampint of money for child support in anyform but once again taking into account how Harry was treated this is paramount to thievery sadly not ilegal but it was make our arguements againt alternatcie placement easier and it makes dumbledore look even worse. on his end pocketing the rest of the money in magical or muggle currency is theft; with him being your magical guardian he has the right to pay for your care but he doesnt habe the right to that money himself if he isnt raising ypu and since anyone can see he has basicaly ignored you unless it was to bewitch or potion ypu into conpliance. well its a crimianal charge we can exploit and we can sue him at his later trial for the return of all stolen funds.
The next order of business is that on top of Madam Bones, we have three others now pledging support. So, to do a current count of Wizengamot support, that is Longbottom, Greengrass, Bones, Abbott, Malfoy (surprisingly enough; Lord Malfoy must see an opportunity with you to make some money for his family), and Davis. This isn't too much of a surprise; the Davises are a minor family in the Wizengamot, and their daughter Tracy is good friends with Miss Greengrass. No doubt Cyrus told Lord Davis about his daughter's order of support. I'm not an expert psychologist, but experience tells me that with Madam Bones, Malfoy, Longbottom, and Greengrass all supporting you, it will convince more than enough of the rest of the Wizengamot to support you as well. Of course, some will see the Potter family businesses and fortune and will most likely contact you at a later time to convince you to do business with their family or their businesses on account of their magnanimous assistance in getting you away from three child abusers. Whether you do it when they ask is up to you; of course, they can't force you to do business with Them. And finally, I should give you a rundown on what I know and what I'm sure will happen today. First thing after we arrive at the site of the hearing, which is Conference Room 7 up on Level 10 (where the ministers' and Wizengamot offices are), you, Harry, will have a quick medical scan. It's just a preliminary check to see if you have been spelled or poisoned that day—simply a way to check fitness for trial. It's done to everyone prior to any Wizengamot action, from the members of the Wizengamot down. It's supposed to also determine if a person is under the Imperius Curse, but as we've learned, a skilled enough caster or willing enough "victim" can hide the presence of that curse from all detection." The man went quiet there, obviously lost in reminiscence.
"Err, Mr. Tonks?" Hermione supplied after a generous break for the older man's ponderings.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, yes, I'm sorry, lost in thought. Anyway… After the scan, you'll be brought into the room. The Wizengamot will be seated in a semi-circle with four tiers to allow all members a view of the proceedings. Hermione, you and your parents will be seated in the gallery until called, and Harry, you'll be at the plaintiff's table with me. That's the table closest to the entry door. The Dursleys, who are being escorted there by Nymphadora and Dumbledore as your magical guardian, will go to the defendants' table with their court-appointed lawyer. Now, I can tell you that you will have no contest from the Dursleys at all. They've already signed papers declaring their intent to disown you, and your aunt has signed support for your ability to care for yourself independently. This will count for a lot, but that will not count for the whole Wizengamot. Not only will they, but they must speak for your safety and well-being. There are powerful alliances in the Wizengamot that will not vote to emancipate you no matter what. Madame Marchbanks, for one, is the head of the Ministry of Education Authority. She will never support letting a child live away from a blood relative if one exists. But with enough support, and I'm sure we have enough, it will sway the vote in your favor. So after your aunt and uncle declare their intents and close their statements, we will start to call...witnesses for want of a better term.
Really, the only doubt I have is that if Dumbledore somehow gets himself placed as the Dursleys' lawyer somehow."He can do that?" Mrs. Granger asked incredulously.
"Oh yes, he very well can. We don't have law schools in the wizarding world. I've earned my title of solicitor and lawyer through apprenticeship with my partner that Harry has met a few times now, Mr. Phisk. Dumbledore, while not an outright member of the Wizengamot, has helped write almost sixty percent of all the laws that have been passed in the last sixty years. Anyone that demonstrates a workable knowledge of the law can be brought on as a representative in court. It's almost never done, you must understand. We have law firms a plenty and the Ministry itself hires people into the Office of Magical Law so that it can ensure habeas corpus for those that can't afford a private law firm. If Dumbledore does put himself in to "defend" the Dursleys, he will make himself vastly unpopular. But it will depend on what he loses in the hearing he is currently in, and if he thinks keeping Harry with his relatives will be worth losing more of his honored positions than he already has."
After a time of silence, with the four adults seeming to communicate silently."I really just want this to be over with," said Harry. "When do we head out?""Well," said Ted while flicking his wand out and casting a Tempus Charm, "it's nine forty-five now. I have an aide watching the courtroom, and he'll be in conta-"
A slight buzzing and vibrating filled the air, and Ted snatched a small mirror from his breast pocket in his robes. After saying "Jordy," a slightly nasally and high-pitched voice came out of the mirror. "Mr. Tonks, sir, they just finished with Dumbledore. They cleared out and sent in a cleaning detail to prepare for your hearing. They're all out to lunch. I think it makes sense since they've been tearing Dumbledore a new one since six in the morning.
"We'll be on our way shortly then. Do you know how things turned out?""Oh yes, sir. It went much the way you said you expected. Not only did the pureblood faction, but Madam Bones and Madam Marchbanks as well, all went for his blood once the events at Hogwarts last term and what you discovered about the Potters came up. It seems Mr. Travers had a lot of enjoyment in painting the happenings in the worst light possible. Dumbledore has been disbarred of his educational masteries, forced to resign as Headmaster, and is on administrative leave while they finish a full inquiry into his tenure as Chief Warlock.""Mr. Tonks, sir," interrupted Harry, "what did you find out about my family?""Harry, I was just going to let it come out at the hearing to get your genuine emotional reaction to the news. I can tell you now or later when it could further hurt Dumbledore. It's your choice, but it's a choice you must make quickly."
Harry stood in silence for a minute and looked at Hermione with a silent question.
""I'd wait, Harry. You don't know, and it won't put you in any danger to wait a few more hours for clarity. But, like Mr. Tonks said, it's up to you."
"Alright, waiting it is, then.""Excellent. Then I suggest we move out." Now, kids, just like we discussed...Harry and Hermione held hands as Harry threw the glittering powder into the fireplace and clearly yelled, "Ministry Atrium!" The two flew through a red and green haze, spinning unbelievably fast and witnessing the flashing images of all the other wizarding fireplaces they passed on the way to their destination until, with a feeling of being upchucked, the two kids were spat out, sprawling on the marble floor of the familiar atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Harry lay quite still, his world still spinning, and his forehead hurt from where Hermione had headbutted him upon reentry. He lay there still next to Hermione as a second green flash revealed Andromeda and Mrs. Granger, and a third revealed the two men. The Tonkses helped up Harry while the elder Grangers helped their daughter off the floor. After having the soot cleaned off of him and making sure Smara was still in her usual place, acting like a living belt, Harry turned and faced his doom.
Okay, wow! I was just going to type out a quick breakfast scene and then the hearing, but that kind of took on a life of its own. I hope everyone likes it anyway!
