Chapter Five - The Trial

A long, barely lit, corridor.

Glossy, off-black bricks.

Uncertainty.

Whispers. A voice.

"Harryyyyy…Harryyyy…"

Walking now, no, floating down the corridor. A door, as dark as the brick, a gleaming golden doorknob.

It begins to open, a white light begins pouring through from the other side, illuminating the passageway.

Getting closer, closer, light, almost blinding, about to pass through.

"Harryyyy…"

Harry woke up with a start, sitting straight up in his bed and fumbling around for his glasses.

"Damnit, where'd I put them?" he thought, "Wait, I'm not at the Dursleys!"

Fumbling through the blur to the other side of him he located his spectacles and put them on.

The first thing he saw was Sirius, illuminated by dawn's early light beaming through the window. He was sprawled out on his double bed, both drooling and snoring rather loudly. Harry was surprised he'd managed any sleep at all. Sirius' room, still heavily Gryffindor-themed to spite his parents, felt warm and welcoming and made Harry smile. He definitely didn't dislike the scantily clad posters of naked women stuck up haphazardly around the room as well. He'd been noticing girls more and more that way recently. It was getting to the point where he was almost thinking thoughts about every female he'd been getting into contact with. He'd been disgusted with himself when he'd found himself marvelling about how soft and pillowy Mrs Weasley's breasts were when she'd pulled him in last night for her usual, bone-crushing hug.

Shaking the uncomfortable thought away he stretched and began thinking about the day. Lord Slytherin had almost been incorrigible with his glee for the opportunity to cook up a good scheme. He'd asked Harry some questions and then asked him to be quiet for half an hour. Then, for three hours, they discussed the plan.

He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, changed into his robes for the day, and then came back in from the ensuite to find Sirius in the same position, flat out. Harry swallowed a lump in his throat when thinking about the care his Godfather had shown - he hadn't gone to sleep until Harry had gotten home from the Chamber. Harry had never experienced care from a relative like that before.

Still, he needed his Godfather now so after such complaining and groaning later,(though it only took a few minutes really) Sirius woke up.

"What is it, Harry?" he said with a groggy glare.

"Sirius, is your vault still open?" Harry asked.

A puzzled look.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't it be, where'd you think I got the gold for the Firebolt, I ain't no thief, Kreacher got it for me."

"I need you to call for him, get him to withdraw a galleon, and ask for the receipt."

Sirius sat up now and gave a confused look. Blinking exaggeratedly to try and wake up a bit more he asked: "Why?"

"Ugh, you'll find out later, do it for me," Harry replied. He didn't want to get into the whole thing right now.

"Aww I could never say no to you my little puppy-poo," Sirius said, snickering as he pinched Harry's cheeks.

Harry was not impressed, and his expression said as such.

"Fine," Sirius said with a whine and then called for Kreacher to do what his Godson had asked.

After a hearty breakfast with Hermione going on about the reasons they couldn't expel him and with Tonks trying to distract him with a grand display of the different animal noses the Metamorphmagus could give herself, Harry got up and followed Mr Weasley into the hall. With his "good luck" hug from his Godfather, Harry felt the galleon and the document slip into the pocket of his robes.

"Knock 'em dead," he said in a low tone.

If Harry's stomach weren't tied up in knots, he probably would've found the journey with Mr Weasley from Order Headquarters to Courtroom Ten at the Ministry of Magic exciting. Even though he was now just about to enter his fifth year in the Wizarding World he still found utterly wonderful ways that a myriad of spells and enchantments were woven into the places that witches and wizards had touched.

He loved magic, but today he was too distracted. He could feel the nerves building up in the pit of his stomach. He needed to focus. Salazar had made him recite what he needed to say today over and over last night and gave him a multitude of pointers and things to say depending on how the hearing progressed.

Arthur Weasley dismissed his charge's stony expression and lack of talking as just nervousness as he led Harry through the muggle underground. He couldn't blame the boy, but still, how could he not find the eckeltrictical barriers fascinating!? How did muggles even come up with these things? Harry even tapped his foot impatiently when Arthur felt the need to walk in and out of those self-manoeuvring doors that'd started popping up on various buildings around the city. What did they call them again? Watermatic? But Arthur couldn't see any water anywhere! How did they do it? He'd always wondered where the water in their taps came from, maybe they used something similar?

Arthur sighed dreamily as they descended into the Ministry. Harry didn't even find the sinking telephone booth fun, and Arthur had even been part of the team that installed the new visitor entrance himself! The muggles really did have mastery over the elements, controlling lightning and water, didn't they?

The eldest Weasley was glad they'd set off early from Headquarters because they'd almost had to run down to the courtroom when it became clear that Fudge had changed the time and location of the hearing. Thankfully their early departure meant they'd only ended up five minutes late by the time Arthur wished Harry luck and sent him in, hoping he wasn't sending the boy to his doom.

Harry tried not to let how pleased he was that the entire Wizengamot had been assembled show on his face as he was led by a duo of Aurors into the middle of the large courtroom. As unusual as it was that the Ministry had called so many people for a simple hearing for what they assumed was an underage magic breach, it was something Harry and Salazar had both expected based on Fudge's recent behaviour. If there were less than a full Wizengamot, the hearing would've been just that, a hearing and not a full session. A full court meant a trial, and that was categorised as a full Wizengamot session. This was instrumental to their plans. Only after Harry had felt pleased at this fact did he nearly gasp as he realised that the almost-dungeon that he found himself in was the one that he'd seen just last year in Dumbledore's Pensieve. It was the one where he'd seen Karkaroff give up the names that had ultimately saved him from Azkaban.

As he looked around he noticed the chamber had the same dark stone and sparse lighting and knew he mustn't be far from the room he'd been seeing over and over again in his dreams for the last few weeks. It made him distinctly uncomfortable and trying to decrease the effect the realisation had had on his nerves, he exhaled steadily and ran his hands over the smart black robes that he'd borrowed from Sirius. Shoulders back, trying to ground himself in the moment he walked with his head held high to the small wooden chair in the middle of the chamber. Again he thought about what Slytherin had said to try and calm himself. With this many Lord and Ladies present, Fudge was clearly intent on making an example out of him today and with a little luck, it would backfire tremendously.

If Fudge was displeased by the fact that Harry had only turned up five minutes late, he didn't show it. The Minister stood, cleared his throat, and announced clearly to the courtroom:

"Disciplinary hearing into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Lady Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley -"

"Witness for the defence, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." called a familiar voice that made Harry sigh with relief. While Harry hoped he might've been able to enact Salazar's plans on his own he still had been a little unsure, no matter the encouragement he'd been given. Now he knew they would have much fewer problems. He would be able to play the part Salazar had asked of him much easier. The naive little boy."

He smiled as the footsteps of the Headmaster drew closer to him before he saw the midnight blue robes move to his side. There was a small amount of tutting and muttering among the members of the Wizengamot.

"So, you got our message that the time and place of the meeting had changed, then?" said Fudge, irritably.

"Must've missed it," said Dumbledore with a cheerful tone, "But, I got here early anyway, a lucky mistake I suppose."

"Well, we'll need another chair," said Fudge with a sigh, "Weasley?"

"Not to worry, Minister," Dumbledore answered and with a wave of his wand conjured a grand, cushioned armchair right next to Harry, who noticed it was much more opulent than the carved mahogany seats the rest of the Wizengamot were sitting on.

Just as Harry had been told, he raised his arm to show that he wanted to speak, just like he would if he was in a class in school.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" Minister Fudge said, "You do not need to raise your hand, as the defendant, stand when you wish to speak."

Harry nodded and then got to his feet.

"Sorry everyone, I wanted to be respectful…I was just wondering…before we got properly started. Would it be bad if what Percy was writing into the records was wrong, if you didn't use my correct title?" he said, innocently.

It was Amelia Bones who spoke here, a kind-faced brunette woman who looked with a raised brow at him. "Of course, you are Harry James Potter, aren't you?"

"Not completely Madame Bones, I've been told I need to draw my wand to prove my full identity?" Harry replied, keeping up the schoolboy act.

"Don't be ridiculous," spouted Fudge, "We know who you are."

"Then there would be no problem with me casting the standard verification vow to prove my identity would there?" Harry said in response.

"Apart from being a waste of our valuable time," the Minister snapped back.

"You know that I belong to a house that has a seat in this Wizengamot, I read in my book that it's customary for all defendants with family seats to do this at the beginning of a trial. Isn't not doing that going against our traditions?"

A grumble came from the throng of witches and wizards seated around the courtroom and more than a few glares and tuts sent the Minister's way. The high bench seemed to be conferring amongst themselves so Harry sat back down and fingered his wand in his pocket.

"Are you sure, Harry?" came the whispered voice of Dumbledore in his ear, "This is a big step."

Harry leaned over and whispered back. "You have your plan, Professor. I have mine, let's work together."

"Very well."

"If you're done conferring with your counsel, as of now Unnamed Defendant we have agreed for you to identify yourself," said Fudge tersely.

"Thank you, esteemed Minister," said Harry brightly, standing back up once more. Removing his wand from his pocket, he held it up high towards the ceiling and remembering what Salazar must've made him repeat fifty times last night, spoke:

"As the laws and traditions of our land dictate, I stand before our high Wizengamot, the noblest court in Britain. Here today are all sitting Noble Houses assembled and as such I present my identity so I may include myself among the number. Nobles, witness my vow, for I, standing before you, am Harry James Slytherin-Potter, Lord of the House of Slytherin of the Great Seven and Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, so mote it be."

The blinding flash of light as Harry's vow was completed was accompanied by nothing more than a cacophony of jeers, shouting, screams, and whoops as the Wizengamot took in the news.

Cries of things like "But Potters are Gryffindors!, Rubbish!, Impossible!, Liar!" were all so intermingled that no one could hear what the others were saying.

Eventually, Madame Bones raised her wand and it went off like a firecracker, and after several cries of "Order! Order!" She eventually managed to get the throng to quieten down enough so that she could be heard above the din.

"Members! I need not remind you that if this were not real, the vow would not have been completed and Lord Slytherin-Potter would no longer be alive. We will have a short recess so that you can all calm down and so that the prosecution can make any changes to their case. We resume in twenty minutes. Dismissed."

The bang of Madame Bones' gavel resumed the louder chatter of the Wizengamot members, though now the volume was much more bearable. Harry stood up quickly and after asking Dumbledore if there was somewhere they could talk, was led by the aged headmaster into a side room. The first thing Harry said as the dark wooden door to the small room closed behind him was:

"Listen, Professor. Here's the plan."

Twenty minutes later Harry definitely noticed a much more uncertain atmosphere on him this time than when he'd first walked into the courtroom, in fact, it was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop.

Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore stood up, turned to smile at the crowd, chuckled, and said. "So. Where were we?"

"Disciplinary hearing resumed into the case for Lord Harry Slytherin-Potter. Firstly, the prosecution has decreed that in the original Wizengamot charter, paragraph fourteen, no Lord who has not yet identified their connection with their family magics with the presentation of their identifying house heirloom may be prosecuted as such. As Lord Slytherin's pendant hasn't been seen for over a thousand years, a silver snake with two socketed emerald eyes Mr Potter, well, I suppose you'll be the first Slytherin ever to be expelled from Hogwarts!"

Fudge finished his address with a chuckle. Harry noticed the plump, toad-faced witch to the right of him joined him. She was all dressed in pink and gave a fake, girlish laugh that made his hair stand on end.

"Oh, you mean this pendant?" Harry replied nonchalantly, before pulling the necklace from beneath the collar of the shirt.

"Oh, this is fucking ridiculous." was the first shout that came out before there was another roar of unbridled chaotic chatter.

"ORDER! ORDER!" Came from Amelia Bones with several hard bangs of the gavel that made Harry's ears ring. It worked, save for an unrelenting irate voice and so she stood from her seat, "Lord Bode, if I do not hear silence from you, then I shall…"

"No, the Dark Lord is the Lord of Slytherin!"

"The Dark Lord is DEAD, Lord Bode," snapped Fudge, "You are fined the sum of five hundred galleons and we hold you in contempt of this court for the rest of the day, now I suggest you leave this chamber or you'll find yourself spending a cosy night in Azkaban!"

If the fine he was facing wasn't gonna shut him up, the threat of a night with the Dementors certainly did and the balding, pudgy-faced wizard grumbled and the court waited as he gathered himself and made his way out of the chamber. Harry didn't notice the glare Lucius Malfoy gave Bode as he trudged his way past.

"So…er…Lord Slytherin-Potter," started Fudge gritted, clearly rattled, "The Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery states that..."

"Pardon me, Minister," came a voice from the crowd.

"Yes, Lord Greengrass."

Harry frowned and looked over to a man seated seven seats to the right of the Prosecution to see a sharp-faced man with high cheekbones and a long, curled blond moustache, and short, cropped hair. The blond colour was the same as Daphne's… and they had the same nose, Harry noticed. This must be her father.

"Minister, I have it on good authority that Lord Slytherin-Potter first came into his Lordship in the eyes of magic before the attack, so the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery wouldn't apply here."

"And how do you know that Lord Greengrass?" snapped Umbridge.

"That…Ms Umbridge is a family matter. The court knows that I trust my family and am not in the habit of unabashedly supporting the members of the light. However, the coming into one's House Magics being a date of coming of age is a rite as old as this Wizengamot itself."

The Lord's statement was met with many "aye"s of agreement.

"Thank you, Cyrus," replied Dumbledore with an incline of his head. "As you can see on your briefing documents, the attack occurred only yesterday and given that Lord Slytherin Potter should've received an official invitation from the Ministry for him to make his ascension to seat on the solstice, the Ministry must surely have not known that he was emancipated. Lord Slytherin-Potter and I also discussed it on the last day of term."

"He still cast the Patronus charm in a muggle area, Dumbledore," said Fudge, childishly.

"I did," Harry said.

"See, he admits it!" Umbridge shouted, rather louder than she should've, given the looks she received.

"The Patronus charm is listed by Ministry classification as a grade one listed light-magic protection spell and as such any Lord of this Wizengamot is allowed to a spell of its type without question, as it can be assumed the Lord's life, or in this case soul is in danger."

"There was, sir, sorry, Minister." said Harry, trying to keep up the naivety routine, "There were two dementors."

"Rubbish! Snapped the balding man. More lies!"

"I have a witness who will testify that there were," replied Dumbledore, warningly.

"Dementors stay in Azkaban." snapped Fudge.

"Apart from when you need three hundred of them to be stationed around the children of Hogwarts itself." Said a smart-looking man in hexagonal glasses.

"That was to aid in the capture of Sirius Black, Lord Boot and you know it!"

"Objection," called Lucius Malfoy, "Irrelevant."

"Sustained," agreed Amelia Bones.

Dumbledore waved his hand as if to wave that part of the conversation away and said, "Whether there were or weren't, is of no consequence here. Just as we were able to track the casting of the charm, we would've been able to track if there were any muggles nearby and there weren't. My esteemed Wizengamot, while I will be more than happy if you wish to produce my witness, whether or not Lord Slytherin-Potter here was in danger is irrelevant, the fact is we know that he cast the spell with no muggle to know of it. We would've been able to tell if he was in the presence of a muggle. Our code of honour in the Wizengamot is total, if we do not trust in the system, our old ways, our traditions are lost. What other evidence is there? Are we going to now start prosecuting our Lords without a shred of incriminating evidence? What is the crime here? An emancipated wizard casting a spell alone and not being in danger of breaking the Statute of Secrecy?"

"This is ridiculous," said a very flustered Umbridge, "We all know that Potter is a liar with what you and he have been spouting since the end of the Third Task. He is a little, lying boy, nothing more."

"That's Lord Slytherin-Potter, Madam Undersecretary," came a deep, booming voice.

"Thank you Lord Rowle," Umbridge simpered, "But that doesn't change my point."

"What has he lied about in this courtroom, he admitted to casting the spell?" said an elderly woman to the right of Harry, he knew who she was just by the stuffed vulture perched on a very old-looking hat.

There was silence as Fudge and Umbridge looked panickingly at each other, Dumbledore took complete advantage and jumped back into the conversation.

"My Lords and Ladies, what next? What could we become if this legal precedent is set? If in the future you were forced into a situation where you needed to cast a spell in future outside your own homes in an area where muggles may be nearby, but there were none, threat, or no threat, as honourable house members you would expect our traditions to be upheld. You'd expect that there would be some shred of investigation before even deciding whether there should be a hearing, would you not? If this precedent is set, even if you couldn't completely prove your reasoning or the circumstances, the Ministry would effectively be banning the public use of magic except in all magical-only settlements. There are nineteen times more witches and wizards living in settlements with both muggles and magical than in our all-magical settlements put together! If this house votes based on this sheer lack of evidence that Lord Slytherin-Potter is guilty when there is no actual crime here in the first place, the legal precedent set would be unmaking laws and traditions that have been in place for over a thousand years. What guidelines do we even have for sentencing someone who isn't guilty of anything? A free ice cream at Florean Fortescue's for dragging him in front of us all for no good reason?"

This earned him a huge laugh from the members around him and Harry knew that this was all over.

"Honourable members, you all know that I am in no way a fan of maintaining all of the old ways, but banning the use of magic alone in public places, well…it's just downright anti-wizard, anti-witch, anti-magic. I'm sorry the Minister called you all in today just to waste your time."

This turned the chatter up to eleven, and one wizard in a scarlet set of robes stood up and said "I move that this is a mistrial, Fudge, shut it down before you embarrass yourself any further."

This caused several more "aye"s of agreement from the hall.

"Seconded," said Lord Greengrass.

"Very well," said Amelia Bones, "Lumos on high to vote a mistrial."

The entire room was set aglow immediately. It was obvious that there were barely any wands not lit so Madame Bones didn't even bother to count them.

"Mistrial declared, case cancelled. Lord Dumbledore as you are no longer Lord Slytherin-Potter's counsel, please sit as Chief Warlock to close the session. Lord Slytherin-Potter, please take your seat as one of The Great Seven, congratulations. Until the room has been adjusted accordingly, please sit with the Most Ancient and Noble Houses."

Harry stood from his seat as Dumbledore dispelled his armchair and they went their separate ways. He walked over to where Madame Bones had indicated and watched Lord Greengrass conjure a comfortable mahogany seat for him.

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass," said Harry with a smile to the blond man, who nodded in response. Harry opened his mouth to speak further but caught Cyrus' nod towards Dumbledore, a polite nudge that the Chief Warlock was about to speak.

Dumbledore, now on the same podium where the Minister had sat and now fashioning what looked like a long, gold-leafed scarlet scarf draped around his shoulders, banged a gavel on the podium in front of him.

"Previously stated business concluded," he said "Any other business?"

Harry began to raise his hand, but Lord Greengrass next to him whispered, "Stand."

Dumbledore looked up at Harry with a raised eyebrow as he got to his feet.

"The Chief Warlock recognises Lord Slytherin-Potter," Albus said.

Harry took a deep breath to focus. He needed to appear inexperienced, but not stupid here.

"I have several questions, being new to the court and I wondered if they could be answered here quickly, rather than continue to struggle through endless books on laws and traditions to find certain things that I'm sure to you all are common knowledge. I'd like to bring honour to my noble house and respect our laws and traditions. I don't want to make votes on the future of the Wizarding World unless I am clued up on them."

Harry mentally praised himself for that introduction.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Very well, Lord Slytherin-Potter. In the interest of us all having a hand in bringing Lord Slytherin-Potter into the fold, please, anyone with the expertise answer and introduce yourself. It has been many a year since a Great Seven Lord has been inducted and a good opportunity to put names to faces I'm sure he has read about. What would you like to know?"

"So," Harry started steadily, "I know in the muggle world sometimes newspapers are owned by the government. Is the Daily Prophet owned by the Ministry?"

An ugly old man in purple robes stood immediately and gruffly said "Lord Parkinson."

Harry nodded to him and Lord Parkinson continued, "My Lord, the Daily Prophet is a publicly traded company. Several members have shares, though there are laws in place regarding members with shares having unfair influence. In any case, the Ministry and all head of department positions are forbidden from holding any shares."

"Thank you, my Lord," Harry said with a smile and nod of recognition, "I'm told your relative Pansy is a credit to the school house named after my own. Is it illegal for the newspapers to quote Ministry officials' words incorrectly or out of context?"

"Lady Augusta Longbottom, my Lord." said the elderly lady, standing up "And yes, the Ministry keeps a record of said quotes given to the press for verification as verified quotes from upper officials represent the view of the Ministry itself."

"Thank you, Lady Longbottom," Harry replied, "I consider Neville, I mean Heir Longbottom, to be a close personal friend, his Herbology skills got me through the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. You should be proud of him."

"I am, thank you."

"Just a quick one, Lady Longbottom. Dragging me in front of you all, slandering me in the papers, and then this mistrial having been declared, that would mean I could sue for reparations for attacking my House's honour, wouldn't it?"

"Damn right it would." replied the Lady with a chuckle.

"Now hold on one second!"

"Silence Madame Undersecretary, " said Dumbledore, almost as if he was bored of her expected response "Any more questions my Lord?"

Harry smiled and looked around him, taking in the atmosphere, and the undivided attention he had in the room.

"Just three, Chief Warlock, but I'm sure these can be quick, no one needs to get up for a formal address. Hypothetically, if a Lord of a Most Noble and Ancient house with no direct heir did not receive a fair trial it would be an insult to the old ways and of traditions we hold dear, wouldn't it?"

Murmuring began amongst the court.

"Damn straight," came the voice of Lord Greengrass next to him.

"And if anyone who is the sole member of any given noble family is tried and sentenced to Azkaban legitimately, is Gringotts bound by some sort of law to freeze the assets of their vault until they have served their time or officially been pardoned?"

Dumbledore himself answered this one. "They are. If there were no other presumably innocent family members, a house's family magic would seal the vault, as punishment for the House's dishonour."

"So…" Harry said, smirking at the increasing volume of the people around him.

"Hypothetically, if such a vault were to be accessed, and withdrawal made, it would prove a trial was never conducted and the lone Lord never convicted, correct?

"Obviously, if that is ever the case, Lord Slytherin-Potter that would be the case, yes." drawled Lucius Malfoy patronisingly.

"Well then," Harry said, clapping his hands together, before reaching into his pocket. He'd barely begun to cast the gemino charm on the piece of parchment when the room fell to silence with bated breath. Most, unlike Lucius Malfoy, were now able to see past the schoolboy charade.

"Lord Greengrass, can you distribute these please." Harry asked "I've not quite gotten the hang of the targeted dispersal charm when it's multiple people yet."

"Certainly." the blond wizard replied. With a swish of his light brown copies of the receipt were sent fluttering like birds across the chamber were issued to all members of the House. Harry sent the original copy to Dumbledore's desk himself.

"My Lords and Ladies, I present to you all copies of, and to the head table, an original, verified copy of a receipt from this morning regarding an extraction made on behalf of Lord Sirius Black, complete with Gringotts seal."

Chaos.