Start of time by Hopeless Wanderer

Chapter fifteen.

/He was running in his dream. Childishly so, the clearing was too big and vast to be considered a yard. The clearing then conjoined flocks of tall oak trees that led to the woods and then continued on to the wall he was running to.

"One. Two. Three." little fingers brushed past the sturdy breaks, dragging across each one with ease and patience. Harry's suddenly crouched figure moved another step ahead. It was a bright sunny day.

He wasn't in the control of his body, while he knew the conscious was his and he was dreaming.

"Four. Five." he was in their yard, right behind the bushes, and under the window lanes, his small body fit right under the small, confined space and his hair barely brushed the edges. The five year old grimaced at his mud covered palms and the grass stain on his knees. He wasn't allowed to wash his clothes until Monday and that was yesterday. With no where to put his clothes in, Harry had sneaked his clean socks and clothes in the bathroom drawers, right behind the containers and beauty products his mommy often used.

As a little while passed, Harry realized that the thoughts also weren't his. The sound was younger, more childish. The thoughts, urges and statements were all colored with immaturity and child's logic.

The thoughts continued : Though he had to live with that muddy clothes in his cupboard for a whole week now, it did worth it. The noises bothered him a lot. Not that he was being rude or freakish, but Aiden cried really loudly, Dudley was here too, and he cried real loud too. The two of them started screeching and the adults were too busy talking to really stop them from fussing. Harry hated the voices, or Aiden being bratty. He never got punished for being a brat or a freak. Like Harry got.

"Six."

The five year old only knew how to count to ten. And yet, there was plenty of things to count all around him, the flowers, the leaves, the red breaks or the floorboards in his cupboard. His own fingers even. Harry liked counting. It was nice and quiet, and a never ending cycle, he could count to ten anytime and as long as he wanted and no one could do anything about it.

"Harry?! Boy?!!" his muddy finger lingered on the last red break and his eyes widened. Mommy.

Swiftly, he walked on all fours, rounded the bushes and started running towards the porch. When mommy called you didn't hesitate. You didn't linger. You ran.

"Mommy?" his small legs stumbled to a halt and he panted for breath. The pretty red haired woman flinched slightly as she heard the title but schooled her features right away with a scowl.

"What are you doing?! Is that mud on your clothes?! You freak! Get in. Now!" Harry ducked his head in shame, willing the fat droplets of tears to stay exactly where they belonged. He was a big boy and big boys didn't cry.

Anxiously, he forced himself to run past mommy and back into the house. Aiden was still crying, Harry thought he could hear Dad trying to make him laugh. No one tried to make him laugh when he was upset. Except for the creepy lady.

He unlocked the cupboard by himself and went in, aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon were both here, and Harry would most definitely prefer his cupboard to living back with them. He gave out a startled yelp as his shoe momentarily caught the crooked nail on the floor and he stumbled down into the darkness of his cupboard.
There was a creasing sound underneath his palms and Harry gingerly stepped back as the door closed, his eyes squinted at the messy scattered parchments, barely hidden underneath his cot.

What was that? Old Harry wondered.

Hurriedly, he moved the cot on the paintings, he couldn't let mommy see his drawings. They would be so mad if they knew just how often Harry drew instead of cleaning the room like he was supposed to.

Drawings.

Little Harry mused : He couldn't let them know how often he stole the broken pencils Aiden threw around his room when he got bored. No, he wasn't allowed to touch the pencils, the pencils were Aiden's. But God knew how much Harry liked doing that. He rolled the soft red pencil right under the cot and settled in.
Pressing his stained cheek to the door, Harry breathed out in relief as his baby brother finally stopped crying, it should've bothered him, the fact that his parents preferred, noisy, messy and gross Aiden to him.

But that was okay... Harry reasoned with himself... He had the spiders... He had his fingers to count and he had his paintings. He was just fine and cozy right here in the cupboard.

After making sure that no one was nearby his cupboard (hardly anyone ever was) the five year old sighed and shifted aside, he pulled out a torn piece of parchment and got the light blue pastel out of his pocket while squirming with glee.

The oily pastel had been crushed and a little disfigured, but the boy just adored it, and he decided that he really wanted to color his grasses the same pretty blue as this one. Aiden or Daddy weren't supposed to know that he had purposefully broken the thing while cleaning his brother's room. He pushed the pastel on the parchment and clumsily started drawing, his vision blurry both from the dark and his overused glasses.

One. Blue Grasses. Two. Pretty flowers. Three. Harry in the yard, crouched. Four. Right under the bushes, there was a small bundle. Five. Was that a blanket?
His ears picked up movement and Harry thrust the parchment and his other pencils under the cot frantically, quickly, he rubbed his oily fingers on the stained cot, leaving blue stained marks. His blood ran cold.

The cupboard was wrenched open and the child scooted away, out of their reach. Mommy sniffed in disgust.

"Pack up your clothes. You're leaving with your aunt." his heart clenched. No. Not again. He whimpered.

"Mommy."

"Leaving with your aunt." his mother bit out forcefully and slammed the door shut again, the hinges screeched and the door crashed against the borders before opening ajar. It was a snarl. Harry knew that he would be gone for a long time, with aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon and ugh! Dudley. He hated it there, he loathed it with as much as hate a five years old could manage and more.

whereas Mommy and Daddy kept up with the appearances and fed him and hugged him once in a while, aunt Petunia had nothing to hold back on, uncle Vernon was actually worse than her and Dudley just screamed. Either way he would go hungry, either way he had to do chores. Either way he had no way of accessing his small collection of toys and drawing supplies.

Something died in him as he dejectedly gathered up his clean clothes and managed to smuggle a few broken toy soldiers in their pockets. He found a few figurines and stuffed them in his shirt as well. Who knew how long he would be with the muggles? He curled his nose in disgust. Muggles. They were even worse than he was. Not because they didn't have magic, but because Harry knew they were bad people who never got time out or got punished like he did. The world is a very biased place. He thought, a bitter taste flooded in his mouth.

Harry was leaving that night, it turned out. And then, they would have to drive all the way back to Surrey, with Harry stuck in a car with the three people who despised him more than his own parents did and there was nothing to keep himself busy with. For a five year old, boredom, was considered a huge problem, thank God he had his fingers.

Seeing as he was not allowed to have dinner, and the rest of them were too busy eating to notice him sneaking out of his cupboard, Harry took the small wrapped blanket in his arms, dropped to his knees, and crawled to the backdoor. Carefully, he snuck past the noisy dinning room with bated breath, and opened the back door with a small click.

It was raining slightly, not enough to baffle Harry and he was fine with the water anyway, it was almost night and heavy black clouds rolled above his head. Hearing his mother cooing at the same fussing Aiden as she coaxed him to eat, Harry's stomach lurched.

Shaking his head, the child crouched and dragged himself and his baby blue blanket as small droplets of rain landed on his dampened hair and back.
He let out a small breath, and pursed his lips. His hair brushed over the edge of the window as it always did, red sturdy breaks were now a dark blood red, if Harry squinted he could almost distinguish wet rain tracks marking the walls.

He only hoped that no one found his hiding place, because if they did, he would be in so much trouble. They would be so furious with him that they would just kill him off, or beat him again. There was no way that his freakish ambitions could get him out of this one. This was stealing. He was a thief. And whatever he had stolen was in the blanket. Harry couldn't recall what was in it, but he had to hide them now.

Swiftly he positioned the small rolled up ball of blanket under the rose bushes, his finger dragged on a sharp throne and his breath hitched, out of surprise and pain, he yelped and then stopped dead on his tracks.

The voices coming from inside stopped as well.

Quickly, Harry stuffed the blanket further inside the bush and scrambled to his feet, just noticing how the rain was pouring down with a vengeance. Small trails of blood mingled with rain water on his small hands as Harry ran breathlessly, he could make it, he thought, he could make it to the door before someone caught him....

Just as he was on the porch the door was thrown open and Daddy's livid face came to his view. Now that the door was open, Harry could still hear Mommy making nice voices for Aiden, the muggles were no where in sight and a lighting erupted.

"Running away? Are we now?" he could only tremble.

Of course he wasn't running away, he was five, not an idiot. "Daddy..."

"You rodent! You filthy piece of shit! What the hell were you doing out in the porch?!"

No time for answers, Harry dropped on his feet the moment the loud crack of Daddy's belt broke the air above his head. He had no time or energy to move, fear rattled his body like the rain broke away at the branches.

"Daddy?" he was pleading. Please? Please? Anyone? Mommy didn't even turn her head. He didn't worth that much. "Daddy!"

The belt cracked and came down with a heavy 'whoosh'!, the child was too surprised to even cry out in pain./

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The ministry was just as one would expect it to be. Dull, crowded and incredibly loud, thankfully Mr. Weasley had arranged a secluded shortcut hallway for them so the mob of crowd and reporters wouldn't be a hassle.

Harry swore, that he couldn't remember half of the things he had seen that day, the stress wore him out so much so that he couldn't even recall his dad and the lawyer talking , or Sirius and Remus nervously trying to cram in their own personal information as much as possible.

He couldn't recall, and he knew that for a fact, because of what happened outside the courtroom.

"Ah! What a surprise! Isn't this my lucky day?! " the salty voice was eerily familiar to his own, for a moment Harry actually took a double take, his eyes snapped up to his own aged up face.

A sly smirk broker out on James Potter's handsome young face as he strode down the hallway to Harry's direction.

"What do we have here? "

Sirius shouldered past his dad and roughly pushed Harry behind his body.

"Get lost you bastard. Or I might just end up shoving your screwed up wand tight... "

"Potter. " Dad coldly interrupted. His calm demeanor, and comforting hands on Harry's shoulders, where what kept the boy from fainting right there.

"Which one?" James asked innocently, smirking.

That man looked exactly like he did nine years ago. As if he hadn't aged a year. Harry's heart clenched, because he knew that look. The narrowed hazel eyes, the crooked smirk, the wild expression of an animal caging its pray. Or as Harry used to call it as a child, punishment alarm.

"Out of the way, if you would. " Dad continued, his hand guided Harry to get his feet to work, Sirius and Remus scowled, forming a protective circle around him, and he recalled Janet gripping his other shoulder in a death grasp. The lawyer and Malfoy were suddenly nowhere to be seen.

"If this is the best you came up with Snivelous... Then you are as pathetic as you were in Hogwarts. What was the song? Snively got no pants? " he drawled out, in a sing song voice.

The boy's fists clenched and he made a move out of his father's grasp. Dad's grip in his shoulder tightened.

"Harry. " Janet hissed, but the child was far too deep in his rage to notice her. As this man's face mocked him, was mocking his father and what they stood for, Harry's life was flashing before his eyes. Every hit and punch, every raised voice, every insult, every jeer and hurtful things they did to him... Everything.
"Move out of the way." His dad was saying, his wand dangerously tucked behind his fingers. Not a Slytherin move at all.

James seemed to realize that too. With a wide grin, he opened his arms widely and took another step closer to them. Subconsciously, Harry took a step back, right enveloped in his father's arms. The smell of ginger engulfed him and he took a calming breath.

"Or what? Do you resort to violence? Shall I put volatile behavior on your case too? And to think, you would act up right outside the courtroom. " narrowed eyes and a few curses were exchanged, James' eyes we're now firmly set on Harry. As if they saw into his soul.

"Harry, you've grown quite a bit haven't you? Though still too short and lanky. We'll fix that up soon, won't we? "

"I'm not going anywhere with you. " it sounded suspiciously similar to a blunt lie, even to his own ears.

James agreed. "You're not. Your mother and I, are going to save you prongslet, you'll see. "

"I don't need you.. " he growled out. Out of nowhere, Janet's arm shot out in front of his chest to hold him back.

"Harry. "

"Move out of the way Mr. Potter. Trust me. It's not too late for a restraining order. "

"Indeed it isn't Sev. "

"I hope I'll see you soon kiddo? Don't worry now. I'm going to /fix/ everything. "

The voice left him breathless. James walked away, hands in his pockets, with his mused up hair stuck up in every direction. Don't worry now. I'm gong to fix everything.

For some reason his throat closed up at the thought of the meaning behind that sentence.

I'm going to fix everything.

Xx

After spending fifteen minutes in the courtroom with the wizagoment, Harry had only one statement to make ; these guys were either retarded or blind.
The first sounded more plausible as the time dragged on and Harry 's anxious mind had more time to deduct useless facts about the plum clad officials. They were all older than forty, of that Harry was sure, some of them seem to have difficulty hearing and some of the other were furrowing at him as if he had stolen their lunch.

"Harry." the boy turned back to face his stoic father. Dad raised his eyebrows and looked at his bouncing feet. Harry flushed and nodded, he stopped the bouncing and chewed more feverishly on his gum. Great stress reliever, by the way, it reduced the urge to curl up in a ball and rock back and forth, counting his head off.
A cold hand brushed against his leg and Harry nearly shrieked.

"Stop chewing so loud." Janet said not unkindly, but as looking just as distressed as he was. She looked a bundle of nerves, although Harry didn't care to admit that she looked good enough in comparison to him. At least she had enough hair to gather up in a sloppy bun. Harry didn't have that much to cover his hideous face or scar.

Soul and body all bare to a bunch of retarded, most definitely bribed strangers.

Janet and Dad were both dressed in similar robes, both a mellow brown with darker collars and a ridiculous amount of button in the front, it was a odd sight to Harry who had never seen his dad dressed in anything but black or dark green. Malfoy had insisted that light brown represented paternalism and it would look better if Dad and Janet both had a unite front against the Potters. Who were better at everything his family wasn't.

"Harry. Chewing."

Sirius and Remus were seated across them in the other side of the circular room, dressed in formal red and gold robs that somehow didn't seem tacky on them at all. Sirius grimaced and wiggled in his bench, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but in that position, Remus rolled his eyes and subtly pinched the man's arm, forcing him to take the other folder as they pretended to skim through the pages.

Remus caught Harry's pallid features and gave him a hesitant wave, not quite managing to hide the wince from his smile. Harry's heart dropped and he looked down at his lap, fingers kneading the soft cotton as he once did as a child with new clothes.

The robe wasn't technically new, Harry being the control freak he was, made sure to always have a formal robe at hand, this one was his dress robe, one he had never worn before, originally royal blue but with some spelling on Dad's part and Janet's ' brilliant' talent in charms, it was now a long, push white robe , with lighter rimming and collar.

With almost no hair, no eyebrows and no glamour he looked exactly like a mini version of Voldemort, with wide green eyes and glasses, and of course the tell tale of his constant chewing.

"Where's Malfoy?" he whispered to his Dad, his white knuckles hands clutched the end of the wooden bench as if he was trying to lift it up.
Dad took one look from his son and their lawyer and then looked down at him blankly. Harry thought the man must have had something deep and meaningful to say in a moment.

"What is that on your collar?" Dad's hand went to his collar, scrapping on the dried piece of gum off his collar. Harry hid his scowl and sighed.
Janet let out an uncomfortable groan and rolled her eyes. "Where was the bathroom again? This place smells like rotten fish."

Harry needed to talk to Malfoy. Urgently. He was having second thoughts, their plan couldn't possibly work. They were doomed, Harry didn't want to go back.
If the situation was not so heart breaking and his life so bleak Harry would've cracked up. This was not funny. Not even remotely funny, his life was about to get fucked, and he was probably going to get separated from every single person he knew, perhaps even moved to another country, they were about to tear his life apart and here he was making jokes out of what he called his life.

"He's talking with the judge. Are you both alright?"

nodding, Harry was disheartened, and Janet pursed her lips tightly. "I thought morning sickness was supposed to be just that. In the mornings!" she hissed and closed her eyes.

Harry checked the watch on his wrist. "It's barely ten. Technically it's still...."

"I got your point." she replied dryly. Harry shrugged, feeling oddly calm now that they were back at bantering.

Before he knew it though , a bustling bald man had made his way to the other officials and had settled in his seat, calling the court to order. His heart plummeted in his chest, Dad's hand squeezed his shoulder lightly before turning his attention back to whatever the lawyer was saying to Malfoy.

Their eyes caught the other in a moment, Harry's pleading gaze, bore into blank gray eyes. You can't back off now. The eyes said to him.
But all Harry could see , was an older version of himself strutting in the courtroom without managing to look disrespectful in the slightest. The man's hair was gelled back and his thin gold framed glasses dramatically enlarged his hazel eyes. Board shoulders and a lean body, James Potter was everything that Harry wasn't , and wouldn't be at any period of time in his life.

Then he saw Lily Potter, his own mother, with a bright kind smile and wavy elegant hair, draped in red velvety rings on her shoulders as she made her way to their stand. As if she wasn't the abusive bitch who had thrown him away like a trash nine years ago, as if she was the good guy here. And to be honest, she did looked genuinely happy to be there.

The judge called order, an assessed their cases before summoning the offensive party. Normally, that would've meant Sirius and Remus, but the men had pulled out of the trial right before it started. An element of surprise if you will, though no one looked baffled.

"Very well. " the judge declared loudly. "With all of the parties being present, let us begin. Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, are you really genuine regarding your withdrawal from your accusation against Severus... Um. Severus Snape, Harry James Potters legal guardian? " Harry gulped down the snort bubbling in his chest, and coughed.

Ashley. His father's middle name was Ashley.

Instead of Sirius, it was Remus who stood and nodded. "Yes your honor. We withdrew from the accusation in order to testify against the offensive party. "
The judge nodded absently, a deep frown came down on his face. "Very well, shall we begin? Custody hearing of the fifteenth of September, the accused, Severus Snape, blood statue. Half blooded, at the age of thirty six, residing in ottery st. Catchpole, Devon. The alleged accusers, Jame Charles Potter and Lily Margaret Potter nee Evans, blood statue, pure blooded, at the age of thirty six and currently residing in the Nobel Potter mansion. Correct? "

Several heads nodded, Harry saw the plump judge huff out a breath in exasperation. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"The accusations? " his blood ran cold. All of sudden Dad drew him to his side, side hugging him firmly by his side. Harry let out a slow breath.
The lawyer babbles away.

"Mr. And Mrs. Potter had deemed Mr. Snape unfit for guardianship of one Harry Potter. "

"Opposition my honor. Severus Snape is the boy's adoptive father. Not a mere guardian, I believe he would be referred as such?"

The frustrated judge glared at their smartly dressed lawyer and cleared his throat. "Of course. Please continue. " he gestured to the tomato man ( Potter's lawyer, truly looked like a tomato. A rotten one though.)

"As I was saying, my clients have seen Mr. Snape as an unfit parent to their son. Who was entrusted... "

"Opposition! " their lawyer Mr. Fishe bellowed. (tall, brute and sneaky as it got. Harry hadn't talked to the man much)

He shrank away at the Sharp tone, and closed his eyes. Dad's hand also gave a jerk on his shoulder, before it tightened.

"Shh, Harry. It's okay. " it really wasn't.

The judge didn't bat an eyelash. "Opposition denied. Carry on please. "

"Entrusted to Mr. Snape's care as a child for personal reasons. The accusation follow, verbal and physical abuse, neglectful behavior and causing emotional distress. "

"Opposition allowed defendants . " now, he was allowing them? Harry thought in information.

The room went undeniably tense as their lawyer cleared his throat and boarded his shoulders.

Harry wasn't confident. Either way, even if they won, which they wouldn't with this biased session, Harry was going back. He had to go back in order to get rid of them for good. This was pointless.

"My honor, Harry Potter was not /entrusted/ in my client's care. My client have found the abandoned child and then proceeded to file abuse and negligence against the Potters to get custody of the boy. " Dad nodded along side the man. Furrowing.

Harry gulped the bile rising in his throat.

"So you are not denying the accusations? " tomato man smartly asked.

"I decline to confirm any accusation against my client without valid evidence and witnesses under veritaserum, under decree three five two. "

The judge shook his head nonchalantly and turned to tomato man. "Is there anything else you might want to add? "

James smirked from across the room. Lily smiled. Harry almost had a heart attack.

"Yes, my honor. Inflicting mental damage is also one of the very accusations. As you have read in the files. Mr. Potter suffers from anxiety disorder and hysteric depression and has been for years. Reportedly, Mr. Snape has declined medical help for the child. "

All the while the accusations was being made, Harry's eyes barely left his... No. Barely left James. The man was waiting. Obviously, the others were too engrossed to pay attention, but Harry did. Harry knew the man. What was he waiting for?

"The accused? Any defense before we begin the formal session? " all of a sudden Dad's hand circled his back. Harry looked up to his dad in surprise, the stiffen look on his face said it all.

"The mental state of Harold James Potter is influenced and resulted by the Potter's constant abuse, as a child. My client has done nothing but to support the abandoned child at the time. "

"Petition denied." Was announced without a second of hesitation.

They were really doing this. They were going to trial. His breathing picked up and Harry felt himself panicking. They were going to trial. Harry was going to get doomed.

"Attorneys to the stand please. Keep in mind that this is only a customary questioning until the first break. Mr. Potter, if you would please. "
For a moment, Harry just stared at the men, while Fishe circled the benches and got to the stand, as Sirius and Remus anxiously glanced at their former friend and then back at Janet, when his Dad's arm reluctantly pulled away.

"Harry. Go. " he wanted to turn back and ask his dad why, things weren't going their way. This wasn't a customary hearing. Why would it be? What would happen after the first break that had already swayed the wizagoment's decision?

Dad betrayed no emotions and slowly guided Harry to stand with only his hand. The boy stumbled down to his stand, feeling the weight of the stares on every but of his skin.

Count. Go on.

No, shut up. He growled back.

They're all staring. All of them. All seeing your freaky disfigured face, what are they thinking? Are they disgusted? Grossed out? Start counting!
I can't. Harry snapped back in his mind. He glanced over at the Potters. They were here, there was no way he would crack down in front of them.
The crack of the belt was still ringing in his ears. Harry flinched.

As alarms went off in his head. Harry somehow stuttered his way out of the vows and declined Veritaserum like he was supposed to. The lawyers rounded him with simple questions at first. Tomato man, only seeming to want to waste time.

"How much time do you spend with your father per day? " he couldn't lie, he had vowed. He told them.

"How do you feel about your parents? " to which Harry asked that whom he meant. The lawyer painstakingly pointed at James and Lily. Harry told them.

"Do you have any friends? " that had nothing to do with anything, and everybody knew the answer anyways. But Harry answered.

"I would like you to describe an average day at your house. How is living with your guardian for these recent years? "

"He's my dad. Not my guardian.. "

"Harry? Answer the question please. "

"Well, it depends. In school days, I sleep and pretty much live in the Gryffindor tower. I meet Dad for dinner and we'll talk for a bit. Then I go back before the curfew to sleep. In summers, Dad usually wakes me up at eight, we eat breakfast, mostly spend the morning in the labs, or I go flying, or go to my friend's place... We spend the afternoons with friends or having tea by ourselves. Dad and I... We walk a lot. So sometimes we take a walk in the woods. "

"Is that topic related to your recent injuries Mr. Potter? Could your so called walk in the woods be the reason you got harmed in the first place? "

"No! I mean... Of course not. That was my own fault. I shouldn't have... Left home in a storm. "

"Then why did you? " that's right Harry. Why did you?

"Opposition. That question is unrelated to the protocol. We're assessing Mr. Potter's welfare at home, not dissecting it. "

"Very well then. Harold, what is your.. Father's usual form of discipline? How does he punish you when you've misbehaved. "

"I.. It doesn't happen that often, for him to have usual discipline method. He mostly makes me write essays or clean up cauldrons. "

"Has he ever hit you? " no, of course not...

"N... N.. He only did once. It was an accident though. I swear. " the vow prevented him from lying.

out of the corner of his eye Harry could see James handing a thick envelope to one of the officlas."That is considered physical discipline nonetheless . Has he ever made you feel unsafe? Unsafe enough to leave your home? "

"N.. N.. Of course n.. N... Only twice. It was my own fault. It was normal stuff. "The lawyer smirked in triumph as he saw that Harry was incapable of lying.
Harry swore in his mind, no, no, he shouldn't be saying these things, he was screwing up, his eyes roamed the stands to look for his father, within the sea of people who were gawking down on him. He found everyone except for him, James' hazel eyes glinted in glee.

"Would you mind telling us the reasons? Has he ever threatened you? " his head was turned back to the lawyer, the man's stance was bothering him. He felt as if the man was way too close to his personal space than Harry would've felt comfortable.

"I don't know, what you mean by that. " he said slowly, he wasn't taking any chances with the vow pressing down on his chest.

"Very well. Has he ever verbally abused you? Ever told you things that he shouldn't have? Have you seen him consume alcohol often? "

Harry gasped and shook his head frantically. "N.. No. No, my Dad's not an alcoholic. "

"What about drug addiction? Your father is a potion master. " the man pressed.

"No! He's not like that at all! " his dad would have chewed this man's head off fro even suggesting such a thing in front of him. Still, Harry couldn't take his eyes off the lawyer. His heart pounded in his chest, thoughts, and emotions were blurred and he couldn't tell which was which. Find Dad, count, I can't hear what he's asking, help.

"What of his partner? Were you aware of your relation to her? " Janet. Janet was easy. She was pregnant, so no. The answer to nay question that could be related to drug or alcohol is no.

"I am now. She's a potion mistress too. She's pregnant, of course she wouldn't drink. " they raised their eyebrows, the judge wasn't even paying attention. Harry could see the man's bowed head reading something on a parchment. The envelope. Harry realized.

"Then why would you assume that your godfathers felt threatened enough to file for custody and notify your parents? "

"Opposition my honor! " Fishe cried out once again, his face ridden with anger and confusion. Harry felt as if his head was under water. He was sure that he had missed a few comments here and there.

"Opposition denied. " the judge answered cooly and went back to the parchment.

Harry insisted. "They didn't! Sirius would never tell my.. Them something like this. "

"Mr. Potter, answer the question please. "

"But I did. My godfathers would never do that. Sirius just made a mistake. He and dad just had an disagreement is all. " damn them all straight to hell, he was tired, he was focused, and as childish as it might sound, but he wanted his father. Maybe a nice and long nap to take this all away.

"Does that occur often? Why were they fighting? " stop pestering me. He wanted to snap back.

"Yes. No, I don't know, I.. I was unconscious. "

"Your medical history is quite thick, would you say that Snape's negligence was a direct incentive to your medical records? "
He didn't think about his next response, opening his mouth only out of impulse.

"What are you implying exactly? I would never do something like that for attention. And my Dad loves me, he would never neglect me. "
Ahh, that was when the man smiled. Harry's eyes widened.

"At your birthday, you quite clearly stated that he favors his partner more than he does you and then proceeded to run away from home. On a later date you were residing at your godfathers residence instead of your own home. Then you were injured at the Quidditch world cup. All the while there was no sign of your father in the scene. Would you care to explain? " something blurred his vision and hands seemed to close down on his ears. Harry was helpless, he looked around. He tried to find his dad, in black robes... No, he wasn't wearing black... What color was he wearing?

Panicking, Harry couldn't remember, he couldn't distinguish faces or hair. Maybe it was blue?

"That's enough. Your questions are up. The wizagoment will now decided on a temporary arrangement, until the later date, when the trial is continued in another session. " Harry didn't even care, he darted out of his seat the moment the place went in shambles and ran straight back to his own bench, Dad was there. Wearing plum robes, what a stupid color.

Harry nearly crashed into the man, Dad hugged him back. But his attention was somewhere else. To the argument between the lawyer and the judge.

Count.

Count now.

"... But my honor, there are also witnesses and the guardians to interview . The wizagoment cannot just decided a temporary verdict on this case with so little information. " what could they possibly decide with no information? Harry closed his eyes, willing everything to end.

"The wizagoment is quite aware of the rules and decrees, however this case is quite complicated and requires more time for reviewing , thus the trial will be broken down in several sessions as earlier stated , then the wizagoment will proceed to give a definite verdict. Now if you would please. "

"But my honor.. "

"We haven't got much time... "

Finish it off already.

"My honor, with all due respect this is against the rules. The wizagoment does not have the authority to just give out a verdict based on basically nothing. "
Whatever, finish it off already, please, so he could go home. He was in no way ready for that. Even though the lawyer basically asked nothing of importance. The whole thing didn't take more than half an hour. What the hell?

The judge looked thoroughly annoyed, ready to foam at the mouth. "And as I stated, the wizagoment is quite aware of the rules Fishe. We're not giving a verdict, at any rate. We're assigning a restriction order. " the man nodded at the envelope in his hands.

"A what? " Fishe exclaimed blankly, as if unfamiliar with the term. Harry was familiar though.

"What?!" his father leapt out of his seat, and so did everyone else, Harry was dragged up with his dad, crushed in his embrace, like a baby doe caught in headlight. Pale, unaware.

"Silence! Silence! Settle down! All of you!" the clock was ticking away, the judge quickly silenced everyone and hastily continued. " Those agreeing to the restriction order, which forbids Severus Snape, a former death eater and spy, and also the guardian of Harry James Potter to have any sorts of contact with the boy until the next session? "Dad was shaking in disbelief, cries of indignation shook the room still, Harry was in shock.

He should've expected this, he wasn't prepared for this. His father was shouting something.

"I oppose! This is absurd! You cannot do this! "

"We have the evidence and the document needed here to give out an emergency restraining order. What is your evidence? "

"Currently nothing. " their lawyer admitted slowly, his eyes wide as an owl's. As if in a dream. Harry panted, shaking his head. What was happening?

"There you will have it. Please refrain from interrupting the voting from now on. As I said, those agreeing to the order? " hands went up, every single hand went up. Restraining order. His dad. He wasn't able to form coherent words. He was going back. His nightmare was coming to life right before his disbelieving eyes.

"And those who oppose? " none. Who would? They were all bribed, influenced, this wasn't real. Harry whimpered. Too sudden. It was too fast. It wasn't supposed to be decided so fast.

"Very well. Restraining order will be in session in two hours, in which the child is to be given enough time to prepare. His parents will house the child until the next session. Which is scheduled for October the fourth. Any violation of the order will lead to arrest. "

"They cannot do that, this doesn't make sense, restraining orders doesn't apply to this case, I don't understand. " Fishe declared numbly, staring, flabbergasted that they have all been out smarted.

Then it settled. His head surged from under the water, blood rushed in his ears and he was aware of his dad clutching him like a life line. He could hear fragments of conversations. No one was looking at him yet.

"Two hours. " he had two hours.

"October the forth. " he was going to live with them. Cupboard, cold, full of spiders, belt marks, the whipping wind, rain pouring down, down, down.

".... Too late for opposition? " tears flowed out like rain.

"They already voted. The verdict is in place. I'm sorry, I really am, but you only have two hours."

"Harry. " all of the heads turned to him.