Witness for the Defence

3.9K 191 161
                                    

⌗ ⌗ ⌗

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

⌗ ⌗ ⌗

It had been a week and a half since Harry Potter had been attacked by Dementors. After being successfully rescued from the Dursley's house, Harry had spent his time living grouchily within the walls of 12 Grimmauld Place. 

For as hard as he pressed the adult inhabitants of the dark house about the whereabouts of his sister, they kept their lips sealed shut equally as persistently. Harry, along with the rest of the teenagers in Grimmauld Place, would listen in on every meeting that Mrs Weasley forgot to cast a silencing charm on the room for, though they were rare, and not once could he hear the familiar tone of his sister's voice seeping from under the door, nor did anyone mention her name or location.

The morning of his hearing at the Ministry, Harry woke up early after a poor sleep and walked downstairs with the odd beat of a funeral march humming through his head. He had expected the kitchen to be empty, but it was not. When he reached the door he heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side and when he pushed it open he saw Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks sitting there almost as though they were waiting for him.

His insides were squirming. Mrs Weasley placed a couple of pieces of toast and marmalade in front of him; he tried to eat, but it was like chewing carpet. Mrs Weasley sat down on his other side and started fussing with his T-shirt, tucking in the label and smoothing out creases across the shoulders. He wished she wouldn't.

"...and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just t-t-too tired," Tonks finished, yawning hugely again.

"I'll cover for you," said Mr Weasley. "I'm okay, I've got a report to finish anyway..."

Mr Weasley was not wearing wizard's robes but a pair of pinstriped trousers and an old bomber jacket. He turned from Tonks to Harry.

"How are you feeling?"

Harry shrugged. He would feel better if she was by his side.

"It'll all be over soon," Mr Weasley said bracingly. "In a few hours' time, you'll be cleared."

Harry said nothing. Somewhere deep within him, he pushed back the thought that maybe, if he got expelled, she'd come back.

"The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones' office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."

"Amelia Bones is okay, Harry," said Tonks earnestly. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."

Harry nodded, still unable to think of anything to say.

"Don't lose your temper," said Sirius abruptly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

Harry nodded again. She would have told him 'Don't be so angry, Harry. The whole world may be against you, but you'll always have me.' 

In The End ⁂ H. Potter TwinWhere stories live. Discover now