Chapter Text
Harry was shaking with nerves as he sat by himself outside of ministry room 117. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape had been inside for at least 20 minutes, but Harry hadn’t been called in yet. He had been beyond relieved when he found out that his trial wasn’t taking place in front of the entire Wizengamot - Draco had told him about the massive courtroom with all of the oldest and most noble wizarding families and the thought of speaking to all of them terrified Harry. Instead, his trial was being held in a much smaller room; today Harry, Snape, and Dumbledore had to present the case to Amelia Bones. Bones would then take her findings to a small board of magical law enforcers who would make a final decision.
Harry started fidgeting with the hem on the sleeves of his robes when Draco’s posh voice filled his head, “Keep yourself collected, don’t fidget or move around too much. Look people in the eyes and bow your head to them during introductions...How’s your handshake?” Draco had been subtly giving Harry comportment lessons all semester, he kicked them into high gear in the hour before Harry’s trial. “There’s going to be a lot of powerful people around, Harry, even if you’re not in front of the Wizengamot. A lot of them will be pure-bloods, and even more of them are Slytherins; everyone is going to know about the re-sorting and they’ll expect you to be more put-together than ever before. You need to be what they’re expecting, Harry. Trust me you don’t want to be on their bad sides - it’s basically suicide to make enemies with the old houses.”. Harry wanted to point out that a lot of them would likely already be enemies if they support Voldemort, but he kept it to himself.
With Draco’s advice in mind, Harry pulled his hands neatly into his lap and sat up as straight as he could. Lost in thought about all he might be doing wrong, Harry didn’t notice the door open so he jumped when he heard his Headmasters voice.
“Harry, my boy - we’re ready for you”
He stood and straightened his robes, then fixed his posture and followed Dumbledore inside.
“Hello, Mr. Potter, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Amelia Bones spoke with a very kind voice from her seat at the front of the room,
“It’s my pleasure as well Madam Bones,” Harry bowed his head as Draco had shown him and then he sat down in the seat he was given next to Professor Snape. Severus curtly nodded at Harry once he was seated as a way to tell him that he was doing fine. The professor had planned on giving Harry the same brief lesson that Draco had but found that his godson had beat him to it.
“Mr. Potter, I’m going to start by reading the statement I have received from your professors. I’ll just need you to confirm that all the information is accurate. Then I will ask you some questions and get some of our magical examiners to look at the scarring on your hand. Once that’s finished you’ll be excused for the day and will be free to return to school. Is that all clear?”
Harry already knew everything that Madam Bones had said, Snape was very thorough in explaining the court procedure before they came, but Harry was happy to have it clarified again, “yes ma’am, thank you, I understand.”
“Very well then Mr. Potter let’s get to it.” Amelia smiled widely then shuffled some papers around before she started to read the report aloud,
“On the evening on Wednesday, September 4th, 1995, Mr. Harry James Potter reported the illegal use of a Black Quill as a punishment during detention with Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, Dolores Umbridge. The High Inquisitor is currently serving as Professor of Defense Against The Dark Arts at Hogwarts School For Witchcraft and Wizardry, she used the power given to her with this position to administer the use of the Black Quill on a student during detention.
The quill was used at approximately 8 pm and the wounds acquired on Mr. Potter's left hand were treated with Essence of Murtlap at approximately 9:30 pm. The scarring has not been fully treated for the injury to be used as official evidence. The scars (which spell out the phrase “I must not tell lies'') take up a quarter of Mr. Potter’s hand and are raised and red - as of the morning after the incident.
At this time (Sunday, September 15th, 1995) no legal actions have been taken against Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. This incident will also be reported to the board of governors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry per the Department of Misuse of Magical Artifacts code of conduct. At this time (Sunday, September 15th, 1995) Professor Umbridge has kept her job as Defense Against The Dark Arts instructor.”
A thick silence filled the room once Madam Bones put the report papers neatly back down on her desk.
“That is all correct Madam Bones,” Harry eventually spoke up after he received a slight nudge of his food under the table from his professor.
“Thank you, Mr. Potter, if you could please stand while I ask you some more questions about the incident I promise to keep this as brief as possible.” Amelia smiled kindly as Harry stood
“Alright Mr. Potter, first I just need you to confirm that this was an isolated occurrence. Have there been any other times you’ve been made to use a Black Quill, either before or after the incident from this report?”
“No ma’am, it only happened once.” Harry had to force himself to stand up straight and hold eye contact with Amelia Bones.
“To your knowledge, Mr. Potter has there been any other students given similar punishments?”
“Not that I know of, but no one else in my house has been given any detentions with Professor Umbridge.”
“Very well, Albus can make sure any other students who have had detentions with Professor Umbridge are spoken to and checked for injuries?” Amelia turned away from Harry and looked to Albus as she spoke.
“Of course, Amelia. I’ll check the detention logs as soon as I return and send you any reports.”
“Thank you, Albus. Now, Harry, this might be a bit uncomfortable but can you tell me what happened in class to warrant the detention?”
Severus found himself very grateful for his occlumency skills, it allowed him to occlude his mind and not snap at the women in front of him. Whatever Harry had done to gain himself detention shouldn’t matter. Torture is not a legal form of punishment in any school - especially not a magical one where there are so many other effective ways to reprimand a student. He had probably hosted more detentions than any other professor, and even he couldn’t think up any action that would warrant that kind of punishment.
Harry glanced nervously around the room, he didn’t want to get in trouble again. He had avoided the second detention with Snape (all of his housemates had told him that in Slytherin if you get detention with any of the professors you have to serve a second one with Snape. It was a way of keeping the house in line and upholding the house’s noble reputation). Now he was about to tell his head of house and the headmaster what he had done in the first place.
“Well,” Harry cleared his throat, “She had just told us that we wouldn’t be doing any magic in class this year, and a lot of people were really upset, it got loud in there fast. She got us all settled a bit and asked what we would even need to practice magic for. She said we were students and there was nothing we could possibly need to defend ourselves again.” Harry paused and glanced nervously at Professor Snape, who very strongly told him to continue with a single stare.
“I told her we’d have to defend ourselves against Voldemort...she didn’t like that, she told everyone I was lying about him coming back. So I lashed out a little. I just got so mad because I know- more than anyone how badly we need to know defense. I know I should have kept to myself, but I just couldn't. I'm a lot of things Madam Bones, but I'm not a liar. ” Harry was getting frustrated and overwhelmed, he wanted nothing more than to be in the common room disastrously losing to Draco at chess. “I told her that I was yelling - I’ll admit that. I just - he’s back, I saw him! I watched him...he did awful things. He tortured me and he killed -” Harry’s breath hitched, he hated saying Percy’s name out loud.
“That’s alright Mr. Potter, I think I’ve got enough information to take to the legal team. Why don’t you sit down.”
Harry sat instantly at Amelia’s words. His legs felt like they were going to give out underneath him, and he could feel his panicky breath rising in his chest.
Before Harry even finished sitting down Snape was reaching into his pocket looking for a vial; there were some brews that he always carried on his person - one of them was a claiming drought. Once Harry was settled into his chair Severus uncorked the vial and pressed it into Harry’s hand.
“Sir?” Harry inquired once he felt the cool glass in his hand
“It’s just a claiming drought, brewed by myself, not a student. I assure you that it’s safe.”
Harry nodded and swiftly swallowed the potion and passed the empty vial back to his professor, “Thank you, Sir” his voice was soft and mumbled but Harry could already feel the cold liquid coursing through his bloodstream and settling him down.
“Mr. Potter, whenever you’re ready I’ll go get the medical examiner, our dark object specialist, and a court photographer to document your hand. After that, you and Professor Snape are free to go back to school.” Amelia waited until she could see Harry’s breathing even out before she asked,
“I’m ready now Ma’am” Harry’s voice was still soft but it was much clearer now, especially when he looked up to properly address the women. He wasn’t sure how much Draco’s tips would matter now that he had a meltdown in the courtroom, but he figured he should keep it up, just in case.
“I’ll go fetch them now,” and the perky witch made her way out of the room.
“Professor, did you know I was going to freak out? Is that why you had the potion with you?” Harry asked as soon as the door was firmly closed behind Madam Bones. Snape nearly chuckled at the question,
“No Harry, I always carry a few basic brews in my coat pocket. In case of emergencies. I’ve had vial-sized loops sewed into the pockets so they stay in place. I can charm the glass not to break, but the clattering for them rolling about in there nearly drove me mad.”
“Leave it to our Potions Master to be ever prepared.” Both of the Slytherin boys held back the urge to dramatically roll their eyes as Dumbledore stood and wandered over to them, “now if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet with the governors downstairs.” and with that, the old man was gone.
Harry and Snape enjoyed a few minutes of comfortable silence before Amelia Bones returned; followed by two young-looking wizards, and a much older witch.
“Mr. Potter, a pleasure to meet ya! M’names Rubble, John Rubble. Magical photographer - I’m gonna take a few shots of that other hand fa ya!” one of the young wizards enthusiastically shook Harry’s right hand as he introduced himself. Snape and Harry both tensed a little at the interaction, but one swift glare from the Potions Master and John Rubble hastily backed off to take the pictures.
Harry was initially scared by the bring flash of the magical camera but he felt that the photography was far less stressful than the interview. He also found that having his professor standing over him and watching the wizard work was quite calming.
“Alright, that’s all I need, Mr. Potter. Good day!” John Rubble cheerfully excused himself and fled from the room under Snape’s menacing gaze. The room was silent for just a moment before the other young wizard stepped forward,
“Stanley Borealis, official ministry court medical examiner. I’ll need to examine your hand for the official report. Are you still experiencing any pain?”
Harry sat, stunned for a second - the man had grabbed his hand without any warning and Harry was using every fiber of his self-control to keep from violently flinching.
“Y-yes sir...a little.”
Harry very intentionally didn’t look at Snape as he spoke, he knew he should have told someone he was still hurting - but he didn’t think it was worth the trouble. The pain wasn’t unbearable, so in Harry’s mind, he was fine. Snape disagreed,
“Mr. Potter, why didn’t you tell anyone about your pain? The murtlap would have continued to ease your discomfort.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Harry answered honestly and finally chanced a lookup to his professor. Severus was giving his student a very stern look but he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t worth causing a scene when they were so close to leaving.
“He’s right Mr. Potter, the essence of murtlap should take away any remaining sting. Your hand will be just fine. They won’t be any lasting damage after the scarring is gone.” Stanley had a very kind voice and was far more collected than John Rubble, Harry thanked him as he made his way from the room. The old witch slowly approached Harry and she spoke in a very quiet voice,
“Harry Potter, I’m very sorry this has happened to you. I’m Rue Raywood, I’ve been a dark magic examiner for the ministry for over 60 years. Today I’m going to magically look into your hand - that way I’ll be able to confirm the scarring was made by a Black Quill. I’ll also be able to remove any magical signature that was left behind. It won’t hurt but it may feel a bit odd. Just let me know when you’re ready to begin.” Rue Raywood was a very serious woman but she smiled slightly up at Harry when she finished her speech.
Harry liked this woman, she was kind and she explained everything before she started, “Yes Ma’am, I’m ready now.”
Harry held out his hand but Raywood gently placed it down on the table. She placed the palm of her left hand over the scars then tapped the top of her hand with her wand. Harry shivered as he felt the wave of magic pass through his hand. Harry liked the feeling, it made him feel connected to his magic in a way he never had before.
“Alright Mr. Potter, it appears that there is still a fair amount of magic left behind from the Black Quill. Likely due to the number of times you were made to use it. Do you know how many lines you wrote?” Rue looked up at Harry, but she didn’t remove her hand from his.
“No ma’am, I lost count somewhere around 17...I couldn’t focus on counting anymore; it hurt a lot. I’d wager it was about 30 or 40. I’m sorry, I’m not sure.” Harry felt a little guilty for not knowing the answer but Rue didn’t seem to mind at all.
“That’s not a problem dear, I can’t imagine trying to keep count of lines while enduring so much pain. Now, this part may sting a bit as I remove the magical trace.”
“Alright, let’s just get it over with…”
’ this might sting a bit’ turned out to be something of an understatement, Harry felt the same pain spread through his hand as he had the night of his detention. He winced and drew in a sharp intake of breath the moment that it started. Professor Snape - who had been watching every move all of the examiners made - quickly made his way around the table so he could see Harry face-to-face.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly
“Yes sir, I’ll be fine,” Harry muttered through gritted teeth, he bit his lip in an attempt to keep himself from crying out as the pain intensified. Harry could feel the magic being pulled around inside his hand, he hoped that the burning sensation in the top of his hand meant that the magic was getting closer to the surface. After about 3 more minutes of the magic shifting about under the surface of his skin, Harry finally felt the witch remove her hand and place her wand directly onto his hand.
“Tollere Bris” The witch called out the incantation and Harry was filled with one last shock of pain, as Rue Raywood pulled her wand away.
Harry blinked in confusion when he saw his professor was holding out another potion vial but he took it without asking any questions. As soon as the liquid hit his lips Harry knew it was a pain reliever - after spending so much time in the hospital wing he was very familiar with the rotten taste. He grimaced as he swallowed it but was relieved when the lingering pain in his hand disappeared.
Harry was in the middle of wondering how big Snape’s pockets were when Rue spoke up again,
“I am again very sorry for the discomfort that caused, but you should have no problem removing the scars now that it’s finished.” She paused for a moment, it looked as if she was deciding whether or not to say more, “and Mr. Potter,” she took another deep breath then continued, “if you ever find yourself in need of my services again...just send an owl.” She spoke as if she knew a secret that no one else did and it made Harry feel uneasy but he didn’t ask any questions - not that he would have had the chance to, Rue Raywood made a very speedy exit after her ominous statement.
Amelia and Severus were just as shaken by the jarring offer; there was a thick silence in the room as all three occupants stared at the door that was still swinging closed.
“Well, that was - unexpected” Amelia cleared her throat after breaking the silence
“Indeed,” Severus respond simply
“That’s all we needed from you Mr. Potter, unless you have any questions." They both assured her that they didn't, "Then the two of you are free to go. The board of governors will have decided before they leave for the night - they hate having to reconvene the next day. The legal case may take a bit longer but I predict it will be quite straightforward, either way, you’ll receive an owl with the final decision in no more than 48 hours.” Madam Bones kept her professional look on her face but her voice was so kind Harry noted once again how lucky he was to have seen her instead of the whole Wizengmot.
“Thank you, ma’am ”
“Harry, I think it’s time we head back to school. If we leave now I can get you back in time for supper. Thank you Madam Bones.” Harry and Snape both bowed their heads to Amelia before walking out and heading to the apparition point.
--
“So...how was it?” Draco finally snapped and asked the question, Harry made it back to the common room and sat down with Draco, Blaise, and Pansy. Draco was able to hold in his desire to know how the court case had gone for approximately 90 seconds before he couldn’t wait any longer. Pansy and Blaise both let out a small chuckle as Harry sighed and went into the story.
“You lucked out mate, when Draco told me where you were we were both certain they would make you see the Wizengmot,” Blaise said when Harry finished telling them about the questioning.
“I know, I was so relieved when I found out; there was something weird though…”
“Well?” Pansy questioned, being fully drawn away from her runes homework at the mention of something weird.
“This old witch - the one who came to examine my hand from a dark object perspective, her name was Rue Raywood. Anyway, she said that there were high amounts of left-over dark magic in my hand from the quill so she had to remove it, which hurt like a bitch, but that’s not the point. When she was done she looked at me with this ‘all-knowing’ glance and she said, ‘if you ever find yourself in need of my services again...just send an owl.’ and she just left after. Fled the room quicker than Snape does. All of us were put off by it, I’ve never seen Snape look so flustered.”
“That is odd, why would she think you would need her help again? Not like you’re going to encounter another Black Quill.” Pansy wondered aloud.
“Maybe there’s some other dark magic in you,” Blaise spoke in a joking tone but Draco felt like there was some validity to what was said.
“How would I not know that I had dark magic in me?” Harry responded,
“Bloody daft, the lot of you,” Draco started, “Harry, you’ve gone face-to-face with the Dark Lord twice -”
“Three times if you count Quirrell...ooh and four if you count memory from Tom Riddle’s diary,” Harry interjected
“That only proves my point further. The point is, that no one has ever fought with someone so powerful so many times. Harry, you are the only person in existence to survive a killing curse - we’ve got no idea the kind of lasting effects that might have. What if He left behind dark magic that night and you’ve never noticed because it’s been there for longer than you can remember.” Everyone stared at Draco when he finished speaking, he did have a point.
“You fought a memory?” Blaise asked
“The diary that controlled Ginny and got her to open the Chamber of Secrets. It belonged to Tom Riddle, who grew up to be Voldemort. He left a piece of himself in the diary when he was at school. It was conscious and it seemed to have some memories of life after he left school. It took energy or magic or something from Ginny once we were all in the chamber...it would have killed her but I stabbed the diary with a Basilisk fang. Once the diary was destroyed the memory died.” Harry told the full tale of his second year, he assumed everyone knew what had gone down in the chamber but the shocked looks on his friend’s faces proved him wrong.
“That - that’s really dark magic” Pansy stuttered out,
“Sounds like soul magic, my mom knows a lot about it. I’ll write to her, see what she thinks.” Blaise added
“Maybe once we figure it out we can figure out what the witch meant, if you-know-who is responsible for both maybe they’re connected?” Draco asked hopefully
“Yeah if there are pieces of him in me still I’d like to get that handled…” Harry chuckled and the rest joined him.
-
“This defense homework is absolute rubbish. How can she expect us to write essays on the Patronus Charm when we’ve never even seen one cast? Bloody textbook diagrams aren’t any good.” Draco complained once everyone had gone back to finishing up the weekend assignments.
“I could show you,” Harry said softly
“You can cast a Patronus? A full form one?” Blaise asked
“Yeah, Lupin taught me in third year after I fell off my broom at the Hufflepuff match. It took me weeks to get a corporal one, but I don’t have much trouble doing it now.” Harry said casually
“Teach me,”
“Yeah me too,”
“How about you just show all of us…”
“Yeah, I can show you… probably shouldn’t do it here though.” Harry agreed
“I know a spot. I found it by accident last year, but it’s brilliant!” Pansy exclaimed
“Well, we’ve got a few hours till curfew…”
--
Pansy showed the guys how to get into the room of requirement, and to everyone’s amazement it was perfectly set up for practical magic practice.
“This is bloody brilliant…” Harry said as he made his way around the room
“How the hell did you find this place Pans?” Draco asked her
“I was stressed about exams last year and was just pacing about when the door showed up, I’ve come up here a few times since and it’s always a bit different. Like it knows exactly what I’ll need. It’s never been like this before, normally there are sofas and bookcases.” she gestured around the room that looked so vastly different then before.
“And you never shared?” Draco asked again as if he was personally offended but Pansy only shrugged in response.
Once the group all had a thorough look around the room Harry said he’d try and teach them the charm.
“The spell is expecto patronum and the wand movement looks like this,” Harry demonstrated “but that’s not the most important part. For the charm to work, you need to focus as hard as you can on your happiest memory. If you’re not thinking of something happy it’ll never work. All together it looks like this,”
Harry closed his eyes and pulled forward his favorite memory of Sirius giving him a hug then called out the charm, “ EXPECTO PATRONUM ”
Instantly the large silver stag erupted from Harry’s wand and began trotting joyfully around the room. With a swoosh of his wand, Harry called back the stang and turned to his friends, they all looked stunned.
“Anyone else want a go?”
By the time the group had to leave to make it back before curfew no one had been successful, Blaise had managed a few silver whisps but that was it.
“You’ll probably need some happier memories, that was my problem - took me weeks to pick one.” Harry said as they all left the room, “Come this way. I know a short-cut” he added and made his way to the passage that he knew led straight to the basement.
“How’d you find this?” Draco wondered about halfway down the tunnel
“The Weasley twins snagged this old map from Flich’s office, it has a bunch of tunnels and passages. It’s enchanted to show the moving stairs and rooms - although that room isn’t on it so I bet whoever made the map never found it. It has a tracker that shows you where everyone in the castle is with little labeled dots.”
“Merlin - who knew you were so cool, Potter.”
The group found themselves laughing all the way back to the common room that night.
--