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Harry Potter and the Cracked Reservoir
Chapter 13: Hearing and Seeing
By Musings of Apathy
Chapter 13: Hearing and Seeing
Thank you to my Beta’s Donalddeutsch, Cateagle and Sparky40sw.
Harry needed some trial and error dressing before he could come down stairs after his hot shower. Percy was more clever than Harry had previously thought to give him credit for. Maybe there was more than a by-the-book rule follower somewhere under Percy’s strict exterior. He entered the kitchen to find their morning meal underway with more partakers than he’d expected. It seems that the entire Weasley clan decided to have Sunday Breakfast at the clan headquarters, aka The Burrow.
"Hello, all," Harry greeted, "to what do we owe this pleasure?"
Fred and George looked at him as if he were speaking Greek.
"He means," offered Bill, "Why is the entire rabble roused this Sunday morning?"
"Again, Huh?" asked Fred, or was it George, Harry never knew.
Charlie chuckled with the rest and cleared the mess up.
"Bill means, that Harry means; Why are we all here?" clarified Charlie, "And to that, the answer is, we decided that while we are all in country, we would all enjoy a Sunday morning breakfast as a family."
"Oh, and it wasn’t to see Percy’s prank in action?" asked their mother with a look in her eye that would have made Doctor Mengele confess to his crimes.
Bill and Charlie withered under her gaze. Fred and George looked like innocent angels. Of course the magically conjured halos were a bit over the top.
"Just as I thought. But that’s fine with me," responded Mrs. Weasley to their non-answer, "I will expect each and every one of you here every Sunday morning until Ron and Ginny go back to school and some visits after that as well."
"Awww, Mo-o-o-om," whined the twins.
"Yes, and I think that Christmas should be here," added Mr. Weasley.
"That’s okay, Dad," answered Charlie, "We already planned it that way so that Harry can declare me the winner of the pranking championship."
"Dream on, dear brother," quipped Bill.
"Sounds wonderful, children," agreed Mrs. Weasley, "and you can just invite all of your Girlfriends as well. I would like to meet them as none of you have bothered to bring them by and I know that you are all…involved."
The bulk of the Weasley males paled at this request.
"How did…"
"…you know…"
"…about Angelina?" asked Fred.
"…about Katie?" asked George.
"I can read all of my boys like books," she answered.
Harry laughed, "Face it guys, you can’t hide anything from your mother."
"And you, Harry," said Ginny, "can’t hide anything from me."
"I’d never dream of it."
They smiled at each other, oblivious to the looks from her brothers.
"Here, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, "let me draw you up another chair so you can join us properly rather than just stand there."
"No need," Ginny said, patting her mouth with her napkin and standing, "Harry can sit in this chair."
Harry moved over and sat in the offered chair, disappointed that Ginny was leaving the table.
"And I will sit in my chair," she said, sitting sideways in his lap.
She reached for a plate that Mrs. Weasley was holding out piled high with eggs, toast and bacon. She studiously ignored the rest of the Weasley clan’s expression as she fed her boyfriend while sitting comfortably on his lap.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saw no problems with the innocent byplay, as they tried to keep from laughing. They trusted both of them and found the reaction of their sons to be funny.
Percy was the first to react.
"What is it that you think that you are doing?" he scolded. "And, Harry, how is it that you are able to just sit there after the prank that I pulled?"
"Prank?" asked Ginny, ignoring the first question.
Harry retrieved the card he had found in his underwear drawer and handed it to Ginny with an explanation of what his boxers were charmed to do.
"Oh, that must have been uncomfortable," Ginny said. She looked at the card a second time. "Wait a second," she held the card up for the rest of the table, "Percival Ignatius Weasley? I thought that your first name was Percy."
Percy stirred indignantly but Mrs. Weasley was the one to answer.
"Of course it is," she said.
"Yeah, " Ginny said, "But on the card it says Percival!"
"Percival," Percy said with his nose up, "is the more dignified, proper version of Percy."
"Only you, Perce," Bill said, "would use a longer version of your name than your birth certificate."
"Please, Bill," Percy said, "I hate it when you call me by that shortened name. At the very least it is Percy."
"Anyway," Harry said in laughter, "yeah, but your mum figured out what thoughts were triggering my shorts to freeze and I just took a hot shower and changed," answered Harry. "By the way, thanks for the help, Mrs. Weasley."
"Glad it worked, Harry," she said in a motherly voice.
"But it was your whole drawer of boxers," sputtered Percy.
"I know," Harry stated simply.
"What did you have to not think about?" asked Ginny.
"You," answered Harry with a smile.
She gave a curt, "Oh."
Harry whispered quietly into her ear, so that no other could hear, how he defeated it.
"Ohhh," she said, much longer this time.
"How?" asked Fred.
"How did you defeat the charm? It was one of our best, unbreakable," added George.
"Boys, boys, boys," Harry said while looking at the redheads, "I won’t reveal how I defeat any of your pranks, or my full opinion, until Christmas when the judging is to take place. But I must say, good job Percy. It hit me below the belt."
"Harry?" Mr. Weasley said at the Sunday evening dinner table before the rest of the family joined them for dinner. "Don’t forget your hearing tomorrow morning."
"Okay, sir," Harry responded. "How will I get there?"
"You can come to work with me," Arthur said.
"What’s it about?" Harry asked. "I thought that I already got my waiver."
"You did," Mr. Weasley said, "but they want a hearing for some reason and only the Wizengamot knows why."
Harry thought for a second and then agreed, seeing as it was out of his hands.
"As you are not a defendant, you can bring someone for support," Mr. Weasley offered. "You could ask Ginny along if you want."
"Do you think that I should?" Harry asked.
"If it’s about what I think that it is," Mr. Weasley speculated, "I think that you may want someone for emotional support, and you seem to be close to my daughter."
"Oh," said Harry, downcast. "If it is about that, then maybe she should come."
"Good morning, Mister Potter," Harry was greeted after he sat in the witness chair in front of the adjudicating body. Ginny seated herself next to him in support.
"Please, call me Harry, Madame Bones," Harry responded.
"Very well, as this is an informal hearing, leeway for comfort is allowed," she said with a small smile to Harry and the rest of the court, "so please call me Amelia. I want you to feel comfortable during the interview."
"Okay, Madame…I mean Amelia. What is the hearing about?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny then at the assembly of the Wizengamot.
"This is to rectify some issues," Madame Bones said, "where I believe that we as a society have failed you in the past."
"Oh," Harry said, noticing how this didn’t answer the question.
"Are you sure that you would like to have Miss Weasley here during this?" she asked.
The reason for her vagueness came out to Harry as he understood that she didn’t even wish Ginny to know the subject if he were going to send her out.
"No," Harry said, "I trust her and want her here."
"As you wish," she acquiesced. "In order to not have to bring any other witnesses in on this case, we request that you voluntarily take Veritaserum so that the matters may be solved without any delay."
"Will these proceedings be private?" Harry asked, concerned.
"They will be public record of their result," she said, "but not in their content. What you say in this case will be protected."
"Thank you, Amelia," Harry said with relief. "Then I will submit to the potion."
The door at the end of the room opened, admitting an old man in white healer robes to the hearing room.
"Healer Fairclaw will administer the potion," Madame Bones stated, "and will stay in the room during the effect as medical support."
"If that’s necessary," answered Harry, uncomfortable with people knowing any of his secrets, but wanting to cooperate.
"Veritaserum should never be administered without medical aid," Madame Bones stated, "as it is a sensitive potion with potential side effects."
"Really," Harry said a little wide-eyed. "I didn’t know that. What happens if you give too much?"
"A complete emptying of a person’s mind through their babbling mouth, maybe, well probably death if there is enough," answered the Healer.
"Why do you ask, Harry?" asked Madame Bones.
"Someone once wanted to find something out from me," Harry recited, "and so they gave me what they thought was an entire vial of Veritaserum, all at once."
The healer looked horrified. Madame Bones silently counted him lucky.
"Now, can we start?" Harry asked, squeezing Ginny’s hand lightly.
The healer administered three drops of the potion to Harry’s tongue, which Harry swallowed. After several moments, the healer waved his wand above and around Harry’s head.
"It is in place and he is not fighting it," the Healer officially stated.
"Good," said Madame Bones, "Harry, the healer must stand behind you for the duration. As a part of the legal use of Veritaserum, he must monitor the potion both for safety and to make sure that you are not fighting it. He will know if you overcome the potion, so please, do not make the effort."
"I understand," Harry said in an uncaring voice.
"Okay," she started, "Harry, please state your full name for the record."
"Harry James Potter," was his bland response.
"What is the address of your residence?" she asked, chairing the panel.
"Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England, European Continent, Terra, Sol System, Outer Spiral Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, The Universe, Reality with Shrimp."
"That's strange," said one Wizengamot member. "Are you sure that the potion is working, Healer Fairclaw?"
"Of course," said the healer, "I just had shrimp for lunch yesterday."
"Thank you, Harry," Madame Bones said, ignoring the byplay amongst the officials in the room, "but no need to go into such detail. I don’t even understand most of that. We’ll ask you for more details as necessary."
"Okay," Harry replied with glassy eyes.
"Why were you placed at this residence?" the Chairwoman asked.
"My parents were killed after Peter Pettigrew, their secret keeper, betrayed them to his master, Tom Marvolo Riddle, when he was trying to kill me." This elicited gasps and whispers from the limited audience. "I survived and Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore decided that I should be placed with relatives of my mother to maintain the blood magic created by her sacrifice, which would protect me from Voldemort’s followers and living with the Dursley’s would prevent me from growing up arrogant as a famous wizard."
Madame Bones, as the Chairperson of the current Wizengamot Judicial Committee, was the sole interviewer, but in attendance were a fair number of Wizengamot members including the Chief Warlock. Professor Dumbledore winced at his own part in the story.
"And were these blood protections successful?" Amelia asked.
"I don’t know of any attempts," Harry said with little inflection in his voice, "but I was never attacked by any deatheaters while in residence there."
"Thank you," she said. "And now I would like to discuss what life was like for you with the Dursley’s…"
The questioning went on for over three hours, ending after the detailed biography of Harry’s life in and out of the wizarding world. The questions traveled from the Dursleys to his time at Hogwarts and his encounters with Voldemort. He was questioned on things that he would never have answered while not under the influence of a potion, but true to his word he didn’t resist the truth potion. His answers wove a tale of physical, mental, and emotional abuse from his relatives and danger, distrust and strife from the wizarding world. The silver lining to Harry’s dark cloud of a life in his story was his friends. He would not have survived without them.
Madame Bones ended the session after it seemed that she had gotten every detail for any number of types of hearings, only Harry was never told the goal of this particular one. The only definite effect that they had yet was the silent tears streaming down Ginny’s cheeks and her tight grip on Harry’s hand.
"Okay. Thank you Mister Potter. We will consider what you have told us during lunch and will meet back here at two o’clock. Ministry Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt will accompany you during this time if you wish to go anywhere. This is standard procedure when dealing with witnesses during legal interviews. Thank you for your assistance to this committee."
Ginny quickly cleaned herself up before Harry could be administered the antidote and come fully to consciousness, so that she could offer Harry strength in overcoming the memories that had been dredged up.
"You’re welcome," Harry said.
"Please administer the antidote, Healer Fairclaw," Amelia instructed.
"So, Harry, Ginny, where would you like to go to lunch?" Tonks asked. "This one is on the Ministry."
"Can we go into muggle London and find somewhere nice to eat?" Harry asked. "I’ve rarely had lunch in a London restaurant."
Ginny smiled at him. She was seething inside, but knew that seeing her anger at how the world had treated such a wonderful man would not benefit him, just as her tears would not have. It would only make him withdraw.
"Fine by me," Ginny offered.
"Muggle London it is," Tonks said enthusiastically.
They had a pleasant lunch in a French restaurant, not far from the entrance to the Ministry that Kingsley had recommended. The subject of what was covered in the hearing was not addressed; the two aurors were not in the room at the time, and Ginny was not about to talk about anything so painful as Harry’s life had been. She just knew that she needed to make sure that his life was better and happier from this point on and if Harry wanted to talk about it, she would be available.
Ginny felt privileged to have heard so much about her boyfriend, especially as he would not openly volunteer to recap his life’s story. But as he had chosen to let her into his secrets, they could move past that part of his life, at least partially.
"Hello, Harry," Amelia restarted the session after lunch. "Thank you for returning on-time."
"Easy to do when you have an auror escort," Harry joked.
"True," she smiled back. "Now, I am sure that you are wondering why we have been having this hearing."
Harry nodded, knowing that they had concealed it for a good reason, but he had been assured that he was not under any charges, so he cooperated completely.
"We held this hearing due to your lack of magical guardian and the inappropriate nature of your muggle guardians," Madame Bones informed him. "I have brought this hearing to determine what would be in your best interest for your future. I apologize for not informing you as to the nature of the hearing until now, but this has been found to be the best way to elicit unbiased responses. We would like to hear what you have to say in the matter before we enter our own thoughts into the discussion. Your opinion is obviously important to this hearing."
"Well," pondered Harry, "I guess it comes down to is who has the legal responsibility to make decisions on my behalf. The Dursleys hate the magical world, so they wouldn’t make worthy guardians. As I spend most all of my time in the magical world, this is the one that seems to count, so any guardian or decisions need to be made by someone knowledgeable in the wizarding world. Sirius Black was my previous legal guardian, but as you heard and know, he was in Azkaban for a crime that he didn’t commit, and he couldn’t make decisions for me, except for a couple. Even counting him, I don’t think that any adult knows me well enough to make the decisions that will be in my best interest, as they don’t know what I really need. I mean no offense to anyone," he said looking at the Professor, "but decisions require prior knowledge on the subject and I don’t see me getting to know any adults that well before I’m an adult myself. I’m afraid I don’t know who should be my guardian."
"What you said is remarkably like what your headmaster has said himself," she confirmed, "and has been agreed upon by this committee. We have found that the muggle and wizarding world both have done you a great disservice in your treatment and we would like to give you the opportunity to lead you own life. We understand that you have the resources to not need the financial support of a guardian and that, as you said, none know your needs as well as you do. We have decided, with your assent, that you shall be considered an adult from this day forward with all of the rights and responsibilities. This is at your discretion for your decision at this time."
"Oh," Harry said evenly.
"Would you like time to consider this?" Madame Bones asked.
"Can I ask something?" Harry said.
"I believe you just did," Madame Bones said, "but you may ask more questions."
"Would this mean that I would have to get my own house and that I couldn’t stay with the Weasley’s any more?" Harry asked with a shy, schoolboyness.
Madame Bones was startled at this thought that he would be thrust out into the world alone was his fear.
"No, Harry," she assured him, "as an adult you would be able to make your own decisions, but you may accept help from any that you wish. This means that if Author and Molly wish you to stay with them, you may."
"Oh, okay," Harry said. "Thank you."
Harry felt his hand being squeezed. He turned his head to look into Ginny’s eye. He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Should I become an adult?’ he conveyed silently. She squeezed his hand to communicate, ‘It’s your choice.’ He raised his eyebrow to her. ‘I want to know what you think.’ She paused, looking up and to the right as one does when they are thinking. She looked him in the eye once more and nodded, completing their silent conversation. ‘Yes, I think that you should.’
Harry was happy for her opinion. The audience was amused at the silent conversation happening between the two. Most couples would be lucky to elicit a single yes or no with a single unasked question, but they had just clearly witnessed a complete conversation being transacted with just facial expressions; one that was clearly understood by both, even if the content wasn’t fully understood by the audience.
"How long have they been dating?" a member of the Wizengamot asked Professor Dumbledore.
Professor Dumbledore was not usually one for joining in the middle of gossip, (listening; sure…starting; an amusement) but he understood the reason for the question.
"A little over two weeks, if I am not mistaken," the Professor said in a hushed whisper.
"Remarkable."
Their attention turned once again to the subject at hand.
"Well, Madame Bones…uh…Amelia, I guess that the answer is: Yes I would like to be an adult," Harry said with some doubt.
"Very well, Harry. Then this court has the privilege of declaring Harry James Potter an adult. The necessary Ministry departments will be informed," she said officially. She let her face shift to a more maternal one before continuing. "Harry, I encourage you to seek advice and assistance, when needed, as you make a life for yourself. I am sure that you have more friends than you suspect who would be willing and pleased to aid you in your life."
"Mister Potter, on another related matter, the goblins of Gringotts will wish to talk to you at your convenience now that you are an adult," said a senior looking ministry official.
"Why is that Mister…" Harry prompted.
"John Wilbanks, I am, among other things, the liaison to Gringotts Bank," he said, "I am sorry for not telling you sooner, but I was given strict instructions that you should not know of their interest before your decision as they believed that it would influence your decision."
"Okay…would you be able to tell me what they want?" Harry asked.
"I can," he said, "Unbeknownst to all but the Goblins, there was a will filed with them for the Potter estate that was not to be executed in full until your reaching adulthood. They will explain the rest, as I am not privy to more information than that."