Contempt of Court
Hale was back the next day and demanded to see Harry immediately. Unfortunately for Harry, the visit centered on paperwork, none of which were release papers.
“They’re stalling,” Hale growled. He put several forms in front of Harry to sign. He gave a description of each one as the legal babble on them went over Harry’s head. “Between Runecraft and Hawkworth, I imagine they’ll get you to sign every form in the ministry before they release you.”
Harry didn’t mind. The slew of papers Hale was carrying made it easy to hide away the letter Rodolphus begged Harry to pass on to his wife.
“Are you sure?” Hale had asked when Harry slipped him the letter. “Considering why you’re in here...”
Harry knew it looked odd to Hale that he was willing to pass along love notes to the woman he had been arrested for cursing. However, it wasn’t about Bellatrix. Harry did it for Rodolphus. If Bellatrix got some comfort from the letter, well, that was regrettably unavoidable.
“Rodolphus really misses her,” Harry attempted to explain. Hale didn’t push the issue. He dutifully shuffled the letter in with the pile of scrolls in front of him.
“How long do you think it’ll be? Or are they really going to ask for more paperwork before they start my trial?” Harry asked after he signed the last form Hale brought for him.
“They can only push this so far,” Hale assured him. “Madame Stokke actually suggested starting the trial without you. Not sure if that woman is on your side or not...”
“What do you mean?” asked Harry.
“Well, it would get around whatever paperwork they send our way. But conducting a trial without the accused would set a dangerous precedent. Especially when the accused is being illegally imprisoned in Azkaban. It would be an additional violation against your rights,” Hale explained.
Harry didn’t know how he felt about what he was just told. On the one hand, if he got to leave prison sooner, he wouldn’t care much if they started the trial without him. But on the other hand, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself beyond the statements he’d already given to Hale.
As the guards handcuffed Harry, Hale asked them to send Albert down to meet with him. “I’m not taking the chance that the ministry will continue to pull this random form bullshit with all of my cases,” Hale explained.
“You’ll have to file an official request to see prisoner Nott,” the guard informed him.
“Excuse me?” Hale asked.
“You can’t – We were told – you have to make a formal request to see each prisoner. The request must detail your exact purpose of the meeting, and nothing else shall be discussed or provided that is not officially approved,” the guard stated.
“I see,” Hale answered. He somehow made those two words sound like a threat.
It was clear the ministry was trying to make Hale’s job harder. It was also clear that the ministry wasn’t just targeting Harry anymore. Albert was worried when Harry informed him, once he has been returned to his cell. They decided that Albert would be the next one that Harry would pass on a letter for. That way, he was not only able to write to his son, but he could give a freehand permission letter for all the documents Hale just had Harry sign. The ministry may not accept it if they were really determined not to, but it was worth a try.
Crabbe was disappointed as his letter for his son was supposed to be next. "It's OK," Crabbe said morosely. "You can pass on my letter next time. This is more important."
Harry's heart broke for the man. "Do you want to add more to the message I'll give him the next time I see him?" he asked. It wasn't ideal as Harry might forget a part of it.
Harry had been dutifully reciting Crabbe’s message a second time to ensure he had it all, when Albert cut in.
"Could you make another box like the one you made for me?" he asked. "There should be enough room to fit multiple letters. You can also wear it as ankle bracelet so it's on you when you're released."
"Oh, could you Harry?" asked Crabbe. Harry couldn't say no to that once he heard the hope in his voice. It was also a better solution that sticking the letters to his person and stealthily transferring them to the bottom of a bench when he had to shower. The first time, he’d almost forgotten the letter on the way out.
From the practice he had creating Albert's box, it was exceedingly easy to create a stone etching of a porcupine. Harry then created a slab with a peacock.
"I've got a stone of a porcupine and peacock. Is anyone else an animagus?" Harry asked.
"I'm a rabbit," said Rodolphus Lestrange.
"I would have though Mulciber would be a rabbit given he's always randy," joked Harry. "Are you the kind of rabbit with the floppy ears or straight ones?"
"Flemish Giant," said Lestrange proudly. Sadly, Harry didn't know what a flemish giant looked like offhand. Lucius and Mulciber tried to describe him to Harry, but it was rather difficult to draw something you hadn't seen. Eventually it was suggested that Harry use a conjured mirror to see into Lestrange's cell like he had when setting the heating wards. Once Harry was able to see Lestrange's form, he was able to create the third block quite easily.
"Do you know what a golden poison dart frog looks like?" asked McNair. Harry didn't.
"Could you not just hop over to my cell?" Harry wondered when it occurred to him that a frog could easily slip through the bars.
"Sadly no," answered McNair. "If more than 75% of a living creature tries to pass through the bars while the cell door is locked, a strong shock charm is released." Harry wondered if McNair found that out through experience. Harry questioned how Sirius got out of his cell but perhaps the window was not tied into this security measure.
"Just draw any old frog then," McNair suggested. Harry tried, but the result looked more like Neville’s toad, Trevor... just skinnier.
Rabastan Lestrange requested Harry use a sugar glider for one side of the box.
"Is your animagus form a sugar glider?" Harry asked. He had trouble picturing one of the most notorious death eaters as a cute and cuddly sugar glider.
"No," said the second Lestrange brother. "I had one as a kid. Took him everywhere. It’s the form my patronus takes too... though I haven't tried that charm in years. Might not be the same now."
Neither Mulciber, Crabbe, nor Avery were animagi so there was a slight debate on what the sixth side of the box should be. Crabbe had suggested a bowtruckle, but Avery thought a kelpie would look cooler.
"I don't know why this is even a question. Clearly the last animal should be a dragon," teased Mulciber. Harry rolled his eyes, thinking it was just a joke, but Crabbe and Avery were ok with that option.
"Isn't that a bit... obvious?" Harry asked. He wouldn't deny his crush on Draco since it had long become obvious to his fellow prisoners. But Harry was fairly certain that none of these men’s sons had guessed.
"Obvious would be engraving 'I love Draco' or 'DM + HP 4ever'," Mulciber stated. "Actually, that might be the best suggestion. It would look lovely on the top of the box."
"Ugh! Dragon it is," Harry groaned. The last thing he needed was to be persuaded into writing Draco's name surrounded by hearts.
"Darn... I guess you can always use 'Harry Malfoy' as one of the passwords," Mulciber suggested. Even though Harry couldn't see him, he was sure the man was smirking.
Under the curious and watchful eyes of Albert and Lucius, Harry had put the box together. He applied the shrinking and enlarging charms, though he did not use 'Harry Malfoy' as the password. "Stag," Harry said pointedly.
"Ah," Mulciber said wisely, "stag because this gift will have Draco fall so in love with you, the wedding will be around the corner. Naturally you'll invite us all to your stag night."
"That's a stretch, even for you," snorted Harry.
"But I don't hear you denying it," Mulciber retorted with good cheer.
"What is the significance of stag?" asked Albert.
"It's the form my patronus takes," Harry said. He debated for a moment but decided to tell them it had also been his father’s animagus form.
Once the box was ready, Crabbe and Nott handed over the letters they had already written. Both had written their sons' names on the letter so that they could be properly distributed once the box was full.
Over the next couple of days, Harry collected letters from his fellow prisoners. In total, he had one letter for Nott, one for Draco, one for Narcissa, two for Crabbe jr., two for Crabbe's wife, one for Avery's wife, one for McNair's wife, one for Mulciber's mother, one for the Lestrange brothers’ father, and three for Bellatrix Lestrange. While he did not know the contents of most of those letters, he had heard snippets of the ones meant for Bellatrix. One was the sappy love note Harry had expected from the man. Another contained equally sappy poems and sonnets, though Harry suspected they were mostly the product of boredom than any true interest in poetry. The last one was more on the raunchy side. Mulciber had helped Lestrange write that one. As the two traded suggestions back and forth, the letter had grown increasingly dirty. Lucius had eventually begged Harry to cast a privacy charm because he did not need to picture his sister-in-law in such positions.
The box also housed the photos Harry had created of his friends. He suggested that the others occasionally store their own photos in Albert’s box to reduce the risk of the guards finding them. As much as it pained them to part with those photos, they agreed it was safer to only pull them out when they needed to.
During this time, Harry did not get any more visits from Hale or any news about the state of his trial. The guards refused to tell him any news, though they remained otherwise professional. The prisoners were given daily showers, meals were passed out efficiently, and all exchanges between guards and prisoners were brief without being excessively rude. When one of the prisoners had tripped and scraped his palm and knee, the guard that had ‘healed’ Harry’s earlier injuries had stepped up to heal that prisoner.
Aside from resuming their regular tutoring sessions, the other prisoners encouraged Harry to learn occlumency. He told them he was rubbish at it, but they insisted that he had too many secrets not to try. They were leagues better than Snape as a teacher as they took the time to explain the theory behind both occlumency and legilimency. Each man tried to teach him the methods and tricks that worked for them. Sadly, Harry had trouble applying them to his own mind. He couldn’t meditate with Burke’s soul making itself known whenever Harry was still for too long. He couldn’t empty his mind from all thoughts. He couldn’t hold a mental illusion long enough to serve as a barrier. Throwing about random unrelated thoughts and memories in order to prevent someone from easily finding the memory they were looking for worked for awhile, but eventually he lost control over what the person invading him mind could see. This unfortunately meant that both Albert and Lucius saw more than Harry wanted them to see.
As the only two who could make eye contact with him, Albert and Lucius were the ones to test Harry’s practical skills. Without their wands, they were limited in how long they could keep it up. Especially since they had to go on deep dives to really test Harry’s skills. Harry started off decently enough and kept them distracted by random, trivial thoughts. Inevitably, one thought would catch their interest and when they followed that thread and poked at it, Harry couldn’t prevent a whole slew of memories from unravelling, all centered on a concept or emotion. It led to many awkward moments.
Fortunately, Albert was the only one to glimpse his less than pure thoughts about Draco. Harry didn’t know if Lucius would still be supportive if he’d glimpsed some of Harry’s fantasies or caught on to the very real stalking Harry had conducted over the year. However, Lucius seemed to anticipate the danger and avoided all thoughts of his son just as much as Harry tried to hide them.
The same rule did not apply to Voldemort. Harry didn’t blame them for being curious about his memories of Voldemort even though he hated reliving them. What did surprise him was when neither commented on Tom Riddle’s parentage. Lucius had only remarked on Voldemort’s lost charisma, while Albert revealed he’d gone to school with him. It seemed some death eaters were already privy to the knowledge that Voldemort was a halfblood, but it was kept hush-hush in favor of promoting pureblood propaganda.
What surprised him even more, though it probably shouldn’t by this point, was their continued support even after all that they saw. After witnessing Harry purposely touch Quirrell knowing it would burn the man, Albert merely told him to never be ashamed of fighting for his life. Lucius even apologized after witnessing himself through the eyes of a scared twelve-year-old.
“I’m sorry too,” Harry said. “Not for freeing Dobby exactly, because he’s happier now... but I had a certain view of you and never let myself see anything beyond that.”
Harry didn’t explain that he’d initially projected the Dursleys on to his interpretation of the Malfoys. While there were similarities, Harry knew they were not the same. Suggesting they were, especially after Lucius had seen some of Harry’s memories of them, would be a huge insult. If Harry had any lingering doubts about the similarities between the two, it was squashed by Lucius’ reactions to the memories he saw.
Both Albert and Lucius were infuriated on Harry’s behalf every time a memory involving one of the Dursleys came up. After seeing how uncomfortable Harry was, they tried to tone down their reactions, but they couldn’t mask their anger. The first time Albert had seen Vernon toss then lock Harry in the cupboard, the man had sworn up a storm commenting on how he would just land himself back in Azkaban for murdering them. Lucius periodically asked Harry if he wanted to talk about it, but respected Harry’s continuous refusal. The man had even grudgingly admitted that “some Weasleys weren’t so bad” after he’d seen the memory where Fred, George, and Ron had pulled off the bars from Harry’s window and took him away in a flying car. Harry overheard them roping Mulciber into their revenge plans when they thought Harry wasn’t paying attention. Harry had mixed emotions about it. He was moved that they not only cared but were actively planning how to prevent the Dursleys from hurting him again. However, these men were more likely to do more permanent damage than Fred and George’s ton-tongue toffees.
Despite more or less bearing his soul to Albert and Lucius, Harry did not improve his occlumency skills. He always ended up with a major headache and couldn’t prevent them from entering his mind any more than he could stop Snape. At least they were careful and considerate as they picked at his memories. They also waited until Harry recovered before trying again. Regrettably for Harry, this was one skill he simply lacked.
“You’ll get it in time,” Lucius reassured him. Both Albert and Lucius were convinced Harry would master it with practice. Harry just resolved to stop looking anyone in the eye from now on. Just as well considering after the third day of radio silence from the outside world, their routine had finally broken.
Not even an hour after breakfast, the prisoners were herded into the showers. Harry knew something was going on because the guards usually allowed them a shower in the afternoon. They also rushed the prisoners, telling them to wrap up even before the water naturally went cold. As they were ushered back to the cells, a guard told Harry to remain in the hallway. Lucius gave him a final pat on the shoulder, and Harry was suddenly alone in the hallway with several guards. One guard cuffed his hands behind his back, and they led him out.
“You got this,” Crabbe encouraged as they left.
Instead of guiding Harry to the meeting room, the guards turned the other way and headed towards Azkaban’s entrance. Harry’s heart speed up and he worried it was another trick until he spotted Hale waiting for him at the processing counter. So were the same two aurors that had brought Harry to Azkaban in the first place. Perkins smiled kindly while Bradley scowled at him.
Even though Harry was handed back his school robes, Hale gave him fancier dress robes to wear.
“We’re heading straight to the ministry, so you might as well change into these now,” Hale said as he handed over the higher quality robes. Trusting Hale, and wanting to leave as soon as possible, Harry didn’t argue with the man. Despite having no privacy, Harry striped with less embarrassment than when he had first arrived in Azkaban. Hale did not provide new underwear, so Harry left the uncomfortable Azkaban pair on, but the rest of his outfit made up for that discomfort. The material of the new clothes were so soft, it felt downright heavenly against his skin. It was also significantly warmer, though the coldness of Azkaban had long stopped being a problem for him.
Anton gave all of Harry’s belongings back, including his wand, but they were passed over to Perkins. Harry felt a pang of longing and worry at seeing his wand in an auror’s hands. Despite his new powers, Harry prayed the day wouldn’t end with the ministry snapping it.
Once they were all on the boat, Hale started fusing with Harry’s outfit.
“Thank you,” Harry whispered as he didn’t the others to overhear him. “I could have worn my own robes though...”
“It’s important that you look like a respectable young wizard today,” Hale insisted. To emphasize this point, Hale pulled out a jar of hair gel from his own robes. “I hope you don’t mind, but we should really tame that rather atrocious hair of yours,” Hale’s tone was kinder than his words. Harry let the man style his hair despite not having a mirror where he could check out the results. By this point in their relationship, he trusted the man to make him look better rather than worse.
“They sure are restless today,” the captain said. The other passengers on the boat nervously observed the growing number of dementors that came out to watch them. More than one patronus circled them, so none of the dementors could get too close. Harry was sure that Asherath was the one hovering at the forefront of the group. With everyone’s attention off of him, Harry decided to risk giving Asherath a small goodbye wave. As much as he’d grown to like the dementor, he hoped he wouldn’t see him again anytime soon.
The aurors ushered Harry into a carriage once they got to the shore. It was a déjà vu of how Harry arrived at Azkaban, but at least this time he had Hale with him.
“They’ve started your trial without you,” Hale informed him bluntly.
“Isn’t that a bad thing?” Harry asked.
“In some ways. Had I not been your judicial-wizard, it could have been disastrous,” Hale informed him with a smirk. Despite the rather pompous statement, Harry suspected there was a lot of truth to it. “It has, of course, backfired on the ministry as all sorts of lawmen are protesting it,” Hale continued to explain. Harry chanced a quick glance at the aurors and was surprised to see Perkins nod and Bradley scowl, though the latter could just be from being near Harry.
“Then why risk it?” Harry asked.
“I suspect Scrimgeour and his like feared Dumbledore would snatch you away the second you were out of prison. They hoped to give you a guilty verdict without having to move you,” Hale groused.
“Oh,” Harry said. “Is my trial going that badly?” he asked as he feared why the minister was so confident he wouldn’t have to move Harry at all.
“Not at all,” Hale reassured him. “It’s far from due process, but I had plenty to use from our interviews. In fact, it might have been a blessing that you didn’t have to go over all those painful memories yet again. Runecraft certainly doesn’t seem sympathetic to what they’re putting you through. He and his minions will likely drag it out. Be prepared for some hard questions thrown your way, but it’s mostly just the verdict left. Public pressure ensured that you would be present for that at least.”
The rest of the carriage ride was spent in silence, but the speed they traveled at made the overall journey very short. Harry was surprised to find a nondescript house their destination rather than the ministry.
“We’re flooing from here,” Hale informed him before Harry could spiral too far into his sudden fear that the aurors took him here for an assassination attempt. Auror Perkins flooed first, followed by Harry, then Hale, and lastly Bradley. Harry was rather surprised to land in the main atrium and guided to check-in at the visitor’s station. He felt eyes on him as Bradley manhandled him. It made him extremely tense until one witch yelled “free Potter!” and several other voices joined in with a supportive cheer. By the time it took them to get processed, several bystanders had transfigured and charmed handheld posters. Harry read ones that said ‘Free Potter’ and ‘Down with M.O.M, we don’t trust them!’. The crowd had also started chanting “Hey, hey, auror! Unhand Potter!”. It helped Harry steel his resolve.
Harry wasn’t surprised to be brought to courtroom ten; the same one used in his last trial. He didn’t know if he should interpret it as a good omen or not. That courtroom was reserved for the more serious crimes, but the last time Harry had been tried there he got off. Unfortunately, Harry recognized some of the same witches and wizards presiding over the trial who had not been on his side back then. The only upside was that neither Fudge nor Umbridge were present.
Harry was led towards the chair with magical chains. Along the way, he caught sight of Dumbledore sitting in the first row. He wasn’t directly behind the chair Harry was to sit at, but he was close. Noting Harry’s attention, the older wizard smiled encouragingly and nodded at Harry in recognition. Harry was surprised that he felt comforted by the headmaster’s presence given he’d felt forsaken by him since his stay in Azkaban. Still, Harry couldn’t manage to return the smile because he was all too aware that this time Harry was the one avoiding all eye contact with the older wizard.
When Harry sat in the chair, the magical chains swung up and encircled him. It was decidedly uncomfortable, but Hale’s presence at his side prevented Harry from having a panic attack.
“It won’t be for long, and it won’t look good for the ministry,” Hale reassured him. “Look towards the right. The press has been allowed access to your trial, and you can be certain this has been noted.”
As they waited for the rest of the wizengamot to arrive and take their seats, Hale continued to update Harry on what had happened in the last few days. He told Harry what he hadn’t wanted to say in front of the aurors. It reminded Harry that he was still carrying Albert’s letter that would hopefully help with the man’s trial, but as he was tied to a chair and had tons of eyes on him, Harry didn’t know how he was going to pass it over.
Once everyone arrived, they started by having Harry go through the formalities. He dutifully stated his name, age, and that he understood what he was on trial for.
“Did you cast crucio on Bellatrix Lestrange on June 18th 1996?” Runecraft cut in as soon as they’d officially started. Harry looked to Hale for guidance, but the man had already jumped in.
“We’ve covered this extensively yesterday. If you wanted Mr. Potter to go over everything in person, you should have allowed him to join us then. Let’s not waste everyone’s time,” Hale stated.
Harry saw that several heads nodded in agreement, but several wizengamot members stubbornly pressed on with questions aimed to highlight Harry’s guilt. Hale, equally stubborn, jumped in each time before Harry was forced to answer. Hale appeared to relish in the opportunity to chastise each person. Harry barely managed to keep a straight face as Hale snidely said “since Mr. Tetley seems to have forgotten his memory potion this morning, let me remind you...”, “Mr. Runecraft seems to be confused about how the judicial process works,” and “Madame Ito, perhaps you could consult the court transcripts if you weren’t paying attention the first time.” It became obvious to tell which wizengamot members wanted Harry to return to Azkaban as they were increasingly frustrated. The rest of the audience appeared amused by Hale’s comments.
Eventually Madame Bones put a stop to the questions that led nowhere. “You hadn’t wanted Mr. Potter present when we went over this. You got your wish then. You can’t complain about it now,” she said firmly before adding, “if you have new questions, ask them now or we will move on to sentencing.”
A few people asked him random questions, such as what he’d been wearing that day, or what time he’d encountered Lestrange. More often than not Hale jumped in and challenged the relevance of question, which spared Harry from having to recall inane details. The only time Hale did not immediately stop Harry from answering a question was when Harry recounted how there hadn’t been any ministry workers around when he’d arrived that day. Naturally, Hale took the opportunity to criticize the ministry further. Unfortunately, Scrimgeour deflected the blame to Fudge rather than the current ministry employees.
Eventually, the questions died down as they realized Hale was twisting their words. Madame Bones was able to move on and call a vote. Harry didn’t know how it would turn out given he hadn’t been present for the trial. Hale ran circles around the wizengamot members today, but Harry had no way of knowing if that had been the tone throughout the trial. He held his breath as he watched the wizengamot vote on his fate. A significant number voted against him, but the majority voted to acquit him. Harry made a soft, relieved noise when the vote was official and the chains holding him fell idle beside him.
“Thank you,” he tried to tell Hale, but his voice was drowned out by the cheers from the news and spectators allowed to attend the trial. Hale must have seen the sentiment on Harry’s face regardless. They smiled at each other, and Hale gave Harry a few comforting pats on his shoulder.
It took Scrimgeour a minute to get everyone to settle down. The man looked resigned as he went through the motions of adjourning the trial.
“I supposed it’s now time to discuss my client’s compensation,” Hale stated loudly before everyone was dismissed.
“Compensation?” asked Runecraft snidely. “He just got away with an unforgivable, and you suggest we further reward him?”
“Mr. Potter was imprisoned without a trial, and subsequently kept in an unsafe environment for weeks. While there, he was not only permanently marked with an Azkaban serial number, but sexually assaulted by one guard. The other guards did not heal his injuries until I insisted,” Hale counted off the ministry’s offenses. “Furthermore, he was denied his right to attend his own trial-”
“Which you allowed,” cut in Hawkworth.
“Only because I feared Mr. Potter’s illegal detainment would go on indefinitely otherwise,” Hale explained. “So, yes Mr. Runecraft, I would like to discuss how the ministry will compensate Mr. Potter for the mental, physical, and emotional pain they have caused.”
The witches and wizards that had wanted to condemn Harry gained some support from other wizengamot members who were less willing to part with ministry funds than they were with parting from a prisoner that had gained too much media attention. But Hale never faltered and countered all objections they put forth. Harry found he was able to enjoy Hale’s wit more now that he’d been pardoned. Harry tried to maintain an innocent expression and the good posture Lucius had instilled in him. He didn’t care about compensation beyond giving Scrimgeour, Runecraft, and the rest a final fuck you.
“We have questions about the validity of Mr. Potter’s claims,” said Tetley.
“Which part?” asked Bones.
“Potter is hiding something. How do we know that Burke actually assaulted him? Mr. Hale, you filled out forms to collect a memory of this event, but none were submitted,” Runecraft stated.
“I requested the right to collect the memory, but nothing held Harry to providing it,” Hale responded.
“But why wouldn’t he?” pressed Runecraft.
“Why would he?” countered Hale. “He’s a sixteen-year-old that was recently attacked in the worst way and you expect him to readily share this traumatic experience with whoever wants to see it? Especially with the people he’s the least likely to trust? The very same people who have illegally detained him, villainized him in the press in multiple smear campaigns, and installed a woman in Hogwarts that was given free reign to torture the students? You cannot blame him if he sees your request to view his memories as suspect. Harry has every reason to believe that the ministry would find a way to use this painful memory to further humiliate him,” Hale concludes firmly over the growing protest of the wizengamot members that had voted guilty.
“We’re not on trial here-” Hawkworth said.
“Perhaps you should be!” someone yelled from the back of the room. It was enough to give Hawkworth pause, but Runecraft readily stepped in.
“We have to find out what happened if we’re to justify giving Potter financial reward for his crimes,” Runecraft asserted.
“He’s been acquitted,” Hale volleyed back, “the compensation he is due is from Azkaban and the ministry’s gross mistreatment.”
Hale, Runecraft, and Scrimgeour circled around the issue a few more times, essentially stating the same things again and again until another wizengamot member cut in.
“Are we sure they were the only ones there?” asked Ito.
“Albert Nott has given me his account of the incident. If the court would allow-” Hale tried to propose.
“Nott is not a reliable witness. He’s not only a convicted criminal, but his awareness of the situation would be hampered by the presence of the dementor,” Scrimgeour said. The latter was a valid point, but Harry realized that if the man truly thought that then he would apply the same logic to anything Harry said given he’d been closer to the dementor.
“Besides, your meetings with Nott were meant to cover his trial, not Potter’s,” stated another wizard.
“Albert Nott volunteered his testimony as he was deeply concerned about the guards’ treatment towards a sixteen-year-old boy. One who is the same age as his own son. Would you not do the same?” Hale said, as he shamelessly used emotional manipulation to cut down their arguments. “Lucius Malfoy could have corroborated their story had the court given me permission to interview him,” Hale added.
Once again, the wizengamot fell into a vicious back and forth argument. Some confirmed the need for more witnesses, but others insisted that the prisoners were not a trustworthy source. Lucius being named as the only other eyewitness stalled any support Hale gained from wizengamot members.
“This is getting us nowhere,” said a witch. “Potter, were you and Burke the only ones in the cell aside from the dementor?”
“Yes,” Harry answered after he glanced at Hale.
“Burke was the one to open the cell door?” asked the witch.
“Yes,” Harry repeated.
“The dementor kissed Burke,” she pressed on.
“Yes,” Harry said after a slight pause. He hoped everyone interpreted his reluctance in relation to the subject and not his own guilt.
“But it didn’t kiss you?” asked Hawkworth.
“Obviously not,” Harry sassed before he could sensor himself. There were some titters behind him. He thought he saw Hale suppress a smirk.
“I mean,” Hawkworth stammered and blushed, “why didn’t it kiss you as well?”
Harry grasped for any reasonable answer, and eventually settled on, “perhaps because once Burke was kissed, I moved away from him. I was as far back into the cell that I could get.”
“Did you call for help from any of the other guards?” asked another wizard.
Harry glanced at Hale, but he couldn’t tell what Hale wanted or expected him to say, so he settled on the truth. “Not the guards, no.”
“Why not?” one wizard asked, but another questioned “if not the guards, who?” at the same time.
“I didn’t think the guards would help,” Harry said.
“Why not?” the wizard repeated.
“They didn’t stop Burke from doing the other stuff,” he said.
“Stuff?”
“My tattoo... another guard helped him do it. And they helped him take Albert away so he could beat him up,” Harry said.
“You have no proof of that,” said Runecraft.
“Well Burke and some other guards took him out of his cell and returned him bruised all over. Since no one can visit Azkaban, it leaves the guards as the only possible-” Harry said angrily.
“He could have fallen down the stairs. Accidents happen,” said Runecraft.
“Not like that,” Harry argued.
“My point is, you didn’t see it, so you don’t know what really happened,” insisted Runecraft.
“Well, what I did see was guard after guard refusing to heal him,” snipped Harry.
“After that, can you really blame Harry for thinking no guard would come to his aid?” Hale summed up.
“But you asked someone for help?” asked the wizard from earlier.
Harry nervously looked at Hale, before answering. “Once I noticed the dementor, I asked him for help,” Harry said.
“You asked it to kiss Burke?” Runecraft jumped in eagerly, like a shark that smelled blood in the water.
“No. I asked him to help me,” Harry said cautiously.
“You thought the dementor would help you, but not the guards?” asked one wizard. He sounded thoroughly confused.
Harry was still periodically glancing at Hale for clues. He noticed Hale looked just as eager as Runecraft.
“That dementor did more for me than any of the guards ever did,” Harry said. It was similar to the statement he made about his fellow prisoners and ministry, but if anyone noticed that, it was drowned out by the shocked gasps that went through the room.
“You can’t mean that,” said Tetley incredulously.
“He saved me. They didn’t,” Harry shrugged.
“If you had ran to get help, surely one of the other guards would have come to your aid. He might have even been able to save Burke’s soul,” Tetley suggested.
Harry blinked a few times in stunned silence, before he leaned towards Hale. “Is he fucking me with?” Harry asked in genuine uncertainty. His voice was low but given the near silence of the courtroom, his question travelled rather far.
“Unfortunately, no,” Hale commiserated with him.
“If I had run away, either the guards or dementors would have likely thought I was trying to escape and probably would have hurt me more,” Harry said slowly. He tried to hold back on the sass, but didn’t think he succeeded in hiding his dislike of the man completely.
There was a small debate amongst the wizengamot about whether or not the guards would have thought Harry was escaping, but fortunately one witch called a stop to it rather quickly. “It doesn’t matter what they would have done. Potter didn’t think they would help, so he asked the dementor for help instead,” she summed up and pressed them to move on.
“What are you hoping to get out of this, Potter?” asked the witch sitting next to Madame Bones.
Hale probably wanted him to say some outrageously large sum of money, but that wasn’t what Harry needed. “I’d like there to be a throughout investigation into Azkaban. By an impartial party. Basic healing spells should be taught to the guards, though that would be less important if the guards were not permitted to injure prisoners in the first place. And, there should be more humane living conditions for the prisoners,” Harry stated. As relieving as it was to know he wouldn’t have to go back to Azkaban, he feared what would happen to Lucius, Albert, Mulciber and the others once the public eye wasn’t on the prison as much.
“It’s prison, Potter, not a five-star resort,” Scrimegeour stated blandly.
“I’m not suggesting adding a spa,” Harry snapped back. “But warmer clothes would be a good start,” he suggested in a calmer voice.
“You do realize Azkaban is meant as a punishment, don’t you?” sneered Hawkworth.
“You do realize we’re still human beings, don’t you?” Harry responded.
“You do lose the moral high ground when you condone the treatment Harry was subjected to while in Azkaban. Treatment that is ongoing for the prisoners that are legally detained there,” Hale added in support of Harry.
The wizengamot was unwilling to get into a debate on the treatment of prisoners. After Harry had directed everyone attention to it, many of his naysayers were suddenly willing to move on to finalizing their decision on what compensation Harry would receive just to avoid a larger discussion on Azkaban itself. Despite Runecraft’s insistence that Harry was not owed any sort of compensation, he was largely ignored. Hale negotiated a monetary compensation of seventy-seven thousand galleons. Harry thought it was an insane amount but wasn’t going to refuse once he saw the sour look on Scrimegeour’s, Runecraft’s and the others’ faces. As minister, Scrimegeour had to issue to public apology for Harry’s illegal detainment. The wizengamot did not agree to Harry’s request to investigate Azkaban, but Madame Bones did state it would be on the agenda of their next internal meeting.
“Bloody hell,” Harry stated once the court proceedings were finally adjourned.
“Congratulations, Mr. Potter,” Hale said with a smile. He pulled Harry up from his chair and gave him a firm handshake.
“Thank you,” Harry said sincerely.
“It was my pleasure,” Hale said. Before they could say more, Perkins walked up to them to return Harry’s belongings. He didn’t much care about his school robes, but he reverently held his wand once it was returned in one piece.
“What’s the first spell you’re going to cast?” Hale asked out of curiosity.
“Don’t know. I’m happy enough to be able to still do magic,” Harry said. Even though he had regained the ability once he’d consumed Burke’s soul, Harry still felt reassured to be holding his wand.
“Just make sure there are no more unforgivables, Potter,” Perkins said lightly.
“Er,” Harry did not know how to respond. He wasn’t sure how Hale got him out of trouble, so he wasn’t sure how safe it was to even imply that he had cast an unforgivable on Lestrange. He was spared answering Perkins when Dumbledore quickly made his way towards them.
“Good work, Reginald, as always,” Dumbledore said to Hale. He nodded politely to Perkins before focusing all his attention on Harry. “Harry, my boy, it is good to see you at last,” Dumbledore said warmly. Harry wanted to point out that Dumbledore had plenty of opportunity to see him when he was first sent to Azkaban, but he bit back the retort.
“I guess that means I’m not expelled?” Harry asked instead.
“Of course not,” Dumbledore said good-naturedly. “In fact, we should probably head there now,” he added and subtly gestured to the crowd of reporters that were barely being held back from swarming Harry by some harried ministry workers.
“There is still some paperwork we need to do,” Hale said, but sighed deeply. “Though we should probably do it when Runecraft isn’t standing across the room, looking like he’s one snide comment away from murdering us all.”
“Indeed,” Dumbledore said.
“I’ll help you get through that crowd,” Perkins offered and gestured towards the crowd that had gathered around the door. The majority of them were press, clearly hoping to get a comment from Harry on his way out.
“I’ll handle them,” Hale offered when he saw Harry nervously eyeing the reporters.
“Thanks,” Harry said. He didn’t want to ruin all of Hale’s hard work with the press.
Perkins led the way, with Dumbledore and Harry following closely behind. The headmaster placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder to better steer him around the crowd. Just as they surged forward with questions for Harry, Hale loudly offered to speak on his behalf. The crowd didn’t seem too keen to let Harry go, but with Dumbledore and an auror serving as buffers, Hale was clearly the best way for them to get a comment for their stories. Once they were past the main crowd, their walk out of the ministry was unimpeded. Just as quickly as Harry had been whisked away from Hogwarts, Dumbledore brought him back.