Last time:The predator had quickly become the prey, and the hawk that circled her was an unmerciful one. Umbridge's days were numbered to mere hours.

Madam Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was a strict, if fair woman. She was a no nonsense witch, and when she and the rest of the Wizengamot had been called to put on trial one Harry Potter for underage magic, she had been utterly annoyed. If it wasn’t for the fact that Fudge would have had no problem removing her from her spot if she’d even attempted to stop what easily could have evolved into a kangaroo court without Albus, she would have stopped it. She knew, however, that she would do the wizard society no good if she was out of a job, even if that job disgusted her sometimes.

More than one person knew that she could be somewhat grouchy when woken up at three in the morning, however, so it was with some surprise when Amelia answered a Floo call at that hour. The caller was none other than Selene, the head of the local Society of Natural Animagus branch. Selene rarely ever called Madam Bones, and when she did it was never for a social visit; particularly when the visit came at such an early hour. Amelia let the slim woman through the Floo, wondering just what it could be this time.

Sel greeted her host graciously, knowing that she needed to be polite if she was going to get the help of this particular woman. Amelia may not be one of the strict pure-bloods that considered the public before family, but she did appreciate respect as much as anyone of her age. So it was with slow and careful maneuvering of words before Sel dared to go to the heart of the matter. She need not have worried so much, for as soon as Amelia heard that she was to be one of the judges in the trial against Umbridge, who was being accused of child abuse, Madam Bones knew immediately that she was going to agree.

So, at five o’clock when the teachers were making sure Dolores wouldn’t leave her quarters, two women of about the same age went through the Floo to Hogwarts. One knew exactly what awaited them there, while the other only had the barest hint gleaned from the power of deduction.

Once they were through, Albus (who had been waiting for their return) convinced Amelia to have an early breakfast. Selene, on the other hand, started calling together five other leading SoNA members. She knew more than most that neither she, nor Severus or Minerva, would be able to sit at this trial no matter how much they wanted to. They were too close to the victim; therefore their judgment would be tainted with bias and favor towards Harry. So, the only way to get around that was for five other leaders and teachers to sit in, making a balanced section in each with Amelia acting as tie breaker if needed.

***

Ron Weasley was a good friend, though he wasn’t quite aware of it. Even with his faults, which were as numerous as any human’s, he still cared deeply for his friends. Harry and Hermione were as close to him as his own siblings were, and earned the same level of concern when they weren’t around or were otherwise occupied. So when Ron woke at seven (an unholy time to wake up in his opinion, but necessary if he wanted to make the Quidditch team that year) he was extremely worried when he noticed Harry wasn’t in his bed, nor did it look like he had even come back up to the tower after his detention with Umbridge.

The teen normally didn’t worry when Harry was gone this early, as his friend had important things to do (or had nightmares that he didn’t want his dorm mates to know about). However, Ron knew that Harry had not been in the tower when he and Hermione had to go to bed. They’d nearly fallen asleep in the Common Room waiting, and had finally decided to go to bed when the clock chimed two.

He felt bad for going to sleep instead of going to McGonagall, but he had barely made it up the stairs and into his bed the previous night. Now though, he wished he had, because something was not right. Harry always returned to the Tower, or at least left a message when he didn’t. Panic makes incredible things happen, which is how Ron Weasley, the typical teenager who was groggy if he didn’t get ten hours of sleep, was up and about and looking for his friend after only five hours of sleep.

***

Harry dozed quietly, having finally fallen asleep in the chair he’d been perched in for most of the night. Thankfully Professor Snape had transfigured the chair into something a little softer than the hard wooden chairs he normally had in his office. His dreams were undisturbed, though later he would wonder why. Especially as it hadn’t been a fully deep sleep one gets past the dream point. He would suspect something, but it was doubtful he would ever really find out.

Severus hid a grin as he watched his ward sleep, amused at the little bit of drool that was escaping Harry’s mouth. The two SoNA members had gone to see about bringing together the jury that would try Umbridge for her crime. They had gotten the message from Sel, and it hadn’t been that hard of a decision to leave seeing as the child had fallen asleep an hour before the call.

He worried about the boy, knowing that even with the healing the other two had given him the memories would still plague Harry. Indeed, he fully expected that if it hadn’t been for the presence of the Animagi, then the young fledgling would have had nightmares to wake the dead. This knowledge was why Severus was up at seven in the morning after a night of no sleep, cursing Voldemort, Vernon and Umbridge in his head roundly. If he had the opportunity, he would see all three of them hanged for what they had done to this teen. Until then though, he would have to be content with just watching over Harry and making sure the boy didn’t get himself into anything he couldn’t get out of. That was the promise he had made to Lily so many years ago, but now it was more so. Though he would never admit it, Harry had awoken his long dead heart. He had made his snarky Potions Master care.