"We just feel so bad for him," Vernon told the Justice. "He just needs a firmer hand, that's all, don't be too hard on him-"

Harry woke in a cold sweat and found Sirius' cold nose against his cheek.

"Thanks," Harry said. The dog sometimes woke him when he was having a nightmare. The dog whined a little but then quieted down and Harry gripped the dog's fur and then ran his hand down the dog's back for comfort. He looked at the clock on his nightstand and saw it was nearing six. He might as well get up for the day, he thought. There was no use going back to sleep just to slip into another nightmare about court or the Dursleys. Earlier that night he'd dreamt the Dursleys had shown up on Diagon Alley and demanded he have a cupboard built for himself to live in between Podmore's office and Tantalizing Sweets. They wanted him to have a window put in too so he could see across the street to the orphanage when he was locked in to remind him that they'd taken him in and saved him from the fate of living there. Harry for his part thought this wasn't so bad because maybe Justin could sneak him sandwiches through the window...

He shook himself mentally and went to take a shower and get dressed in his dress robes again for the day.

"Wish me luck," Harry said to the dog. "It's their day to say what a poor excuse I am for a person."

The dog whined and stuck his cold wet nose in the palm of Harry's hand. Harry got on his hands and knees and hugged the dog and then left.

"You're supposed to look presentable Potter," Podmore said with an eye roll when Harry entered his office ten minutes later. He motioned to Harry's robes and Harry saw the dog hair there. Podmore cast a cleaning spell at Harry and the hair vanished.

Silver came into the office a few minutes later and they headed for Double Lane so they could get to the Muggle Street. Harry noted that more people than usual were out early this morning, including Ollivander, who was giving orders to a small work crew on how he wanted the outside of his new shop painted. Harry was pleased to note several small round tables and chairs had appeared outside Double Lane in the tiny plaza at the end of Knockturn Alley, but he barely had time to look before he was being ushered into Double Lane.

Twenty minutes later Harry found himself sitting on the bench outside the courtroom by himself. Silver had gone to find a bathroom and Podmore had gone to speak to the Minister, who had shown up today. There was still almost fifteen minutes until they had to be in the courtroom and Harry wondered when others would start to turn up. His question was answered a minute later when the lift at the end of the hall opened to reveal Snape. Snape's lip curled as he saw Harry sitting by himself in the corridor and came to stand outside the courtroom.

After several moments of silence, Harry was hoping the man would keep to himself, but those hopes were dashed when Snape said smoothly, "Your barrister paints a pretty picture Potter." Harry looked up at him to find the man with his usual sneer. "The abused orphan who is able to rise from the ashes to care for himself since his nasty guardian isn't willing to."

Harry looked down at his shoes and swallowed. "It's not nice to make fun of me," he said. It had taken a lot to tell a room full of people how the Dursleys treated him, and for Snape to make fun of him for it just wasn't playing fair.

"Make fun Potter?" Snape sounded angry but he didn't get to say anything else as the lift at the end of the hall opened again and Podmore stepped out with barrister Coombs and Dumbledore.

Harry chanced a look up at Snape, who narrowed his eyes one last time at Harry and then swept into the courtroom with Dumbledore and Coombs. Dumbledore didn't look at Harry at all before he entered, though Harry wished he would have. Podmore motioned for Harry to follow him in and after they'd seated themselves Silver came in, followed by the Minister and the case supervisor and case investigator. After the Justice came in a few minutes later and they were all seated and everyone in the room had been introduced and announced, Coombs gave his opening argument.

"We do not intend to prove that Mr. Potter has received adequate care at the hands of his relatives as it has already been proven that he has not. We intend to prove that despite the inadequate care he has received, he would be best served if placed back with his Muggle relations and that it would be unwise to grant him early majority."

Coombs called the case supervisor to be questioned and said, "Yesterday you indicated that Mr. Potter would likely be able to care for himself. Do you still hold this opinion?"

"Yes," the case supervisor said.

"So he could look after himself?" Coombs asked again.

"Yes."

"Should he?" Coombs asked.

"No," Conner said.

"Would you mind explaining why he could look after himself but should not?"

"By his own admission he would rather not be caring for himself and managing a business so young. He told us he would rather be living in a home where he is looked after and can focus on things a boy his age would focus on, such as reading for fun and playing Quidditch. Beyond his desire to not step into majority so early, Harry suffers from nightmares as we discussed yesterday. His inability to sleep concerns us as sleep is necessary to function well and as sleep disturbances of this kind can be frightening for children his age. Also, while Harry seems to be able to manage his family's business, we're concerned he may overwork himself and eventually become too stressed to cope and will have no one to fall back on to help him if he is emancipated early. Children of this age still require a strong support system and ties to adults who can help them problem solve through things they don't have experience with, which is why emancipation never happens before 16 years of age. Harry could look after himself and it's our opinion that he likely has been looking after himself for a number of years, but if granted early majority now he'll be put under too much stress for a boy of 13. It would be unfair to take him from childhood so early and throw him into the adult world. All of this could have serious repercussions on his adult life. He needs a solid foundation to build his adult life and future relationships upon and he hasn't received that to this point."

A knot began to grow in Harry's stomach as barrister Coombs thanked the case supervisor and said to the Justice, "Mr. Potter's barrister describes all of the responsible and admirable things he has done over the past several weeks. We must ask ourselves however, if Mr. Potter has really matured to such a level that he can care for himself when his track record of irresponsible behavior stretches back several years. Is six weeks really enough time to mature to such a level?"

Coombs called on Snape to answer questions and the knot in Harry's stomach grew.

"Please describe Mr. Potter's academic career thus far during his time at Hogwarts."

Harry was interested to see that Snape wasn't sneering as he answered. "Mr. Potter squanders his educational opportunities at school."

"What do you mean by ‘squanders'?" Coombs asked.

"He consistently gets a P in potions which is not passing, and is barely passing in Herbology, Transfiguration and Astronomy. He puts forth a minimal amount of effort in subjects that do not interest him. It's obvious from the essays he turns in in Potions that he barely grasps the concepts being taught."

"Aside from academics, how would you classify his Hogwarts career?"

"Bumbling and hazardous," Snape said silkily without even a glance at Hary. Harry wondered if he was intentionally not looking at him to keep himself from sneering.

"Would you please elaborate on that?" Coombs asked.

"He and his friends bumble their way from one dangerous situation to the next with no understanding of the danger they placed themselves in or of potential consequences to their own well being or of the well being of those around them. Potter is frequently to be seen dueling those he does not get along with in school even though dueling without staff supervision is forbidden. He is frequently caught out of bounds and given detention for his... indiscretions. Despite frequent detentions he never seems to learn his lesson." Snape's last few words were punctuated and Harry had a feeling there was a sneer hidden underneath them somewhere just for him.

"Can you give us examples of the times he's been caught out of bounds during the term?"

"At the end of the first year he and two of his friends went to a forbidden third floor corridor where they spent the night breaking through several protections the school had placed on a priceless artifact. This artifact was being protected from He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. At the end of the night Potter faced down the dark lord on his own and nearly lost his life. Near the end of his second year Potter and one of his friends went out of bounds to save his friend's younger sister, again from He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and a giant basilisk. During both incidents he and his friends never thought to seek the help of a teacher."

Harry wanted to jump out of his seat and yell that it wasn't true, that they had tried to get the help of teachers, but was reminded by a nudge from Podmore that he wasn't supposed to have any emotional ‘outbursts' in court and clamped his mouth down tight.

"Thank you Professor," Coombs said. Then he turned towards the Justice and said, "I'd also like to remind the court that Mr. Potter has been up and down Knockturn Alley without an adult throughout the summer, though we recognize an exception must be made as his barrister's office is located there. It goes to show a pattern of lack of thought to his own safety."

Harry thought the barrister would call on him to answer questions and was ready to defend himself, but Coombs never called him. Instead he called on Dumbledore and asked him why it was so important that Harry return to the Dursleys for several months of the year.

"We have already seen Voldemort try to return twice in the last two years and have seen the danger this has posed to Harry. Tom Riddle still has many loyal followers who would be ready to do his bidding at a moment's notice, even if this means killing or torturing a child. When Harry was taken from the orphanage and placed with his mother's sister, it was with good reason. His mother's sacrifice cast a powerful protection charm on Harry, but in order for that charm to work he must reside with one of Lily Potter's close relatives. This charm makes it so that when one of Voldemort's true followers tries to attack him, they are unable. This was demonstrated clearly at the end of Harry's second year when one of Voldemort's still loyal followers tried to kill Harry with an unforgivable at school but was stopped by his own house elf from doing so. This was also demonstrated when Harry faced down Voldemort in his first and second year at school. At the last minute something unbelievable always pulls Harry back from the brink of death. This is a powerful protection for Harry until reaches majority and is able and learned enough to protect himself."

Harry shook his head and his stomach began to bubble with upset. His mother had cast a charm on him as she'd died? The circumstances around his last couple of years were incredible but he'd always thought himself lucky or himself and his friends skilled enough that they'd escaped with their lives.

Coombs was talking again and Harry forced himself to listen. It sounded like he was giving his closing argument.

"Mr. Potter must be returned to live with his aunt and uncle as Lily Potter has no other living relatives. When Mr. Potter is residing with his Muggle relatives Headmaster Dumbledore will check in on Harry weekly by owl and monthly in person. Harry will be given a shared journal to communicate with Dumbledore at all times should he ever be in need of immediate assistance. New charms will be placed on the Dursley household to ensure Harry is fed three nutritious meals a day and snacks in between. New charms will also ensure no physical punishments are carried out against him at the residence. Headmaster Dumbledore will provide clothing for Harry three times a year: at the start of summer, at the start of school, and during winter. Harry will not have to return during short holidays, only during the summer and only until he reaches majority at 17. The argument has been made that Mr. Potter could take care of himself, though Wizarding Welfare believes he shouldn't at this age, and his academic career thus far supports that he isn't yet ready to do so. With such strong protections in place on his relatives home, it's imperative that he be returned there immediately so such protections can be kept in place."

"Is your final argument concluded?" the Justice asked.

"It is," Coombs said.

The Justice sighed heavily and shuffled several papers around before looking up at Coombs and Dumbledore and then at Podmore.

"I am not pleased gentlemen. Nothing about this pleases me. Young Mr. Potter has been placed in deplorable living conditions that he must somehow return to for his own safety, yet he cannot return to for his own safety. While the new protections, food and clothing being offered to Mr. Potter are a start, it leads me to wonder why these safeties and basic necessities of life were never set up in the first place. It seems to me it would be a gross injustice to send Mr. Potter back to the care of the Dursleys despite any protections you may put into place yet I am not yet convinced that Mr. Potter could do better on his own, especially given who he is and his status as the Boy-Who-Lived." It seemed she had more to say, but she closed her mouth.

"Court is adjourned for the day. We will resume tomorrow morning at nine am. Gentlemen, I suggest you come prepared to give me better reasons for your positions during rebuttal. As it stands now, neither of you have made your case. If neither of you can convince me of your case I may be left no choice but to remove Mr. Potter from the care of his current guardian and place him into the care of Wizarding Welfare, which is also unsuitable given his status and the dangers that come with that status, but which may be my only recourse."

The Justice stood and left and everyone else stood until she was out of the room. Snape took his chance to sneer fully at Harry now that the Justice was gone, and Dumbledore was giving Harry a funny look. Harry wasn't sure if Dumbledore was sad or sorry or curious about something.

Silver and Podmore took Harry back to Podmore's office and the three sat in silence for several minutes.

"I don't like it," Silver finally said. "I don't think there's anything we can bring against that type of protective charm."

"And Coombs knows it," Podmore said.

"What do you mean?" Harry said, heart feeling like it was up in his throat.

"It's ancient magic. That type of magic can't be cast, so there's nothing we can offer up to rival the protection you're being offered if you return to the Dursleys, especially if it's protecting you while you're at home and school."

"Protecting me from Voldemort but not the Dursleys. You think a charm on their house will stop them? They'll take me down the street to beat the tar outta me! They'll take me on vacation and dump me somewhere without my wand or any journal. What kind of charm are they gonna place that will keep them from locking my stuff up or from forcing me to write what Dumbledore wants to hear each week? What about that food charm? Unless the food gets charmed right into my stomach they'll find a way to keep me away from the food or give it to Dudley." Harry wanted to tell them there was so much more the Dursleys could do to him if they chose to but his stomach already felt sick and he didn't want to think about this case any more. He wanted to go ride his broom or to talk to Ron or Hermione to settle his nerves, but knew none of those things were possible at the moment.

Podmore and Silver didn't seem to have anything to say to him to calm his nerves either so Harry got up and left. Mrs. Ginger caught sight of him as soon as he stepped out onto Knockturn Alley and called over to him. Having nowhere else to go because he didn't want to go back to his room to be upset by himself, Harry went into the orphanage with her.

"I caught sight of you before you went into Podmore's office," she said, handing him a cup of apple juice as soon as she led him into the kitchen. She shut and warded the two doors leading into the kitchen to ensure they were alone. Harry thought it was nice to have her undivided attention like this, especially when he knew there were so many other kids in the house who would likely be vying for it if the doors hadn't been warded shut. "The look on your face told me how court went for you today."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Harry said, voicing for the first time that day how he felt.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They ripped me apart. They said I was irresponsible and Snape made fun of me before court and I found out that the only reason I'm even alive is because when my mum died some kind of magic went out of her and set a protection on me from getting killed but only if I return to the Dursleys. Even Podmore and Silver seem to think there's no more case. I'm going to have to go back. If I go back I might not even make it back to Hogwarts. You don't know them... my aunt and uncle. You don't know what it's like there and what they'll do now that wizards have been around asking them questions about how they treat me. I'll just turn up missing and no one will know til Hogwarts starts and they'll never find my body."

Mrs. Ginger had Harry wrapped up in a hug before he could work himself up any further. He felt warm and safe if even only for that moment. "It's not gonna be all right," Harry said. "It's not," he insisted.

"Shh now," Mrs. Ginger said quietly. "I don't want you to think about it any more. There's no use making yourself sick over it when nothing is written in stone yet."

"But I can't stop thinking about it," Harry said.

"You're going to eat a sandwich and then take a nap," she told him, and Harry didn't argue. He'd been trying to figure things out and make decisions for himself for so long that it was nice to be told what to do by somebody he trusted just this once. She made him a sandwich, which he ate despite not feeling hungry, and then she led him to an unused bed in the new guest room downstairs and told him to lay down and take a nap. Harry suspected she must have put something in his juice because he didn't dream, but he wasn't sure what she must have dosed him with that could do that. When he woke up, he found Justin sitting on the end of the bed reading a magazine.

"You musta been tired. Dinner's already passed."

Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"You're gonna yell at me for saying so, but you're lucky," Harry said glumly.

Justin eyed him carefully for a moment and went back to his magazine. "I know," he said, for once not arguing. He pulled an apple from a bag on the floor and handed it to Harry and when Harry was done eating it he said, "I got permission to walk you back to the Leaky Cauldron even though it'll be dark soon. Mrs. Ginger said I could stay the night with you."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"She said you could probably use a friend."

"I gotta be up early for court."

"I won't keep you up."

Justin picked up his bag which looked like it had already been packed for him to go with Harry and led Harry out onto Knockturn Alley.

"New window is in at Ollivander's," Justin pointed out as they walked down the mostly deserted alley. "Looks nice."

Harry looked as they passed. The building had been given a new coat of light gray paint and it did look nice with the new larger window. Harry could see new shelves were half built inside and wondered what it would look like when all the boxes of wands were put in. No counter had been built inside yet and the back room was barely framed in.

"He's excited for a shop twice as big. It'll be so much less cramped in there now."

"Yeah," Harry said, but he didn't feel like talking about it anymore. He and Justin went back to the Leaky Cauldron and up to Harry's room. Tom brought up two dinners and two deserts but Harry skipped his desert and gave it to Justin instead. Justin handed Harry a Quidditch magazine and insisted he read it before bed. "Mrs. Ginger said you weren't to think about court at all tonight so you might as well read something interesting."

Harry read but he only took in half of the words. In the end he fell asleep with his head on Sirius and a hand fisted in the fur on the dog's back. When he was certain Harry was asleep Justin unrolled his sleeping bag and cast a cushioning charm on the floor. He took one of the pillows off Harry's bed and lay down in his sleeping bag with another magazine. He was glad Mrs. Ginger had seemed to know just what Harry needed and that he could help since Harry had helped them so much.