A Tense Reunion

On Wednesday at 8 am, Auror Shacklebolt entered the Great Hall and was largely ignored as he went up to speak with McGonagall. After a few moments conversation, the Deputy Headmistress tapped the side of her glass to get the attention of the students.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, please accompany Auror Shacklebolt to the Ministry." She instructed the two Gryffindors.

Having received letters from the Ministry on Monday, both of them had known to expect the arrival of an Auror. Hermione had spent most of the morning glaring at Harry, because he wasn't properly dressed for appearing at a court hearing. He was wearing jeans and another one of those attitude t-shirts. This one said: 'I can only please one person a day and today's not your day. Tomorrow's not looking to good either.'

At least it was better than the t-shirt he had originally intended to wear: 'Your village called. They want their idiot back.' She had told him that was the wrong message to send to the Ministry and the court, if he really wanted to get Umbridge put away and suggested he wear his school uniform.

 Harry had said nothing as he went back upstairs and when he came back down, she gave up trying to convince him he was representing the school today. The message on the t-shirt was quite clearly directed at her as was the warning he had given her with his icy stare that she was overstepping the agreed upon boundaries.

As Shacklebolt led the two silent students out of the Great Hall, Harry had to admire the man's poker face. He couldn't tell from the dark man's expression what his thoughts were about the fact that the Head of the Order he also worked for was going to be on trial today.

Once they reached the entry hall he pulled out a flat metal disk and told them. "The portkey is set to take us to a waiting room off of Courtroom One.

Hermione winced. That had been the courtroom where Harry had taken away all the books she had been given by Sirius and the Weasleys had been forced to give up the funds that Sirius had left to them for taking care of Harry when he couldn't.

Kingsley continued having missed her reaction, "The trial for Madame Umbridge will begin in an hour and after it is over, I will be bringing you back to Hogwarts Miss Granger. Mr. Potter, you will be remaining for Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore's trial later this afternoon."

"Will Mr. Boet be meeting me there?" Harry wanted to know.

"He is already there waiting for you." Shacklebolt told him. Gesturing to the disk he told them, "Take hold of it."

When they had done so, he touched it with his wand and said, "Portus."

Harry stumbled slightly as the port key deposited them in the waiting room.

Mr. Boet greeted him as soon as he had recovered his balance. "Good morning, Mr. Potter."

"Mr. Boet," Harry nodded to the other man.

"Has Auror Shacklebolt advised you of the order of the proceedings?" Boet wanted to know.

"He said that Umbitch," Harry ignored Granger's gasp of surprise at the fact that he changed Umbridge's name to a swear word, "will be first and then Snape and Dumbledore this afternoon."

Mr. Boet nodded, then told his client, "Once we finish with the Umbridge hearing, I thought we might speak about that information you requested last week."

"We can discuss it over lunch, if that's all right." Harry told him.

"That will be fine. We can go to a muggle restaurant. We'll have some privacy there." Mr. Boet told him. "I also have some papers here I need you to look over for the Remus Lupin Foundation."

Overhearing this, Hermione asked, "What Remus Lupin Foundation?"

Harry glared at her. "Not that it's any of your business what I discuss with my solicitor, Miss Know-It-All, but it is the foundation I set up for werewolves in Remus' name. Now go away you nosy busybody."

Hermione felt her eyes begin to tear up, but quickly wiped them away determined not to show any weakness. She had only herself to blame. He had set the limits and twice now she had stepped over them and invaded his personal life. Sitting down in one of the available chairs, Hermione did her best to ignore the conversation going on between Harry and his solicitor, even though she really wanted to put her two pence in.

It used to be her advice that he would ask for and trust, but now he didn't even want it offered and that hurt. Unfortunately as her mother had pointed out to her when she'd heard what had happened, Hermione knew she had no one but herself to blame for the fact that one of her best friends now wanted nothing to do with her. She should have known better. She shouldn't have been so quick to believe Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall when they said he was guilty, but for some reason, she always believed in the judgement of those in authority unless they proved to be a real danger to the public like Fudge.

She had taken their claims as truth without even a second thought and in her anger at what she thought was his betrayal of his friends had done the unthinkable, in destroying the only memories Harry had ever had of his parents. She had been the betrayer not him. She was determined to make up for it, somehow. She was going to get her friend back.

Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she never noticed Kingsley Shacklebolt come back into the waiting room, until he said. "It's time to go in."

The courtroom looked almost the same as it had when she and the Weasleys had been summoned here regarding the reversal of aspects of Sirius' will. In fact if she hadn't know better, Hermione would have thought it was a muggle courtroom.

The only difference was that instead of the one seat for the judge, there were now three seats behind a long table, with one off to the side for the court scribe. At least this one wasn't as gloomy as the dungeon that Fudge had tried Harry in during their fifth year, when he was trying to show Harry and the Wizarding world just who was in power.

Hermione watched as Harry and his solicitor took their places at one of the tables. She noticed that Umbridge and her solicitor were already at the other one.

Hermione noted with some satisfaction that Umbridge didn't look nearly as confident as she had when she used the power of the Ministry to try and control the staff and students of Hogwarts.

She also saw with some surprise that Fudge was in the courtroom. She had thought this hearing was to be a closed to the public. Hermione was pleased to see though that he wasn't seated up in the area where the tribunal would sit and guessed he was just here as an observer.

....

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