Reposted: January 26, 2022

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Summary: Dumbledore's trial is coming up; meanwhile, Harry tries not to think about it too much

"Any update?" Harry asked.

Severus suppressed a sigh. That was the fifth time Harry had asked about Dumbledore's upcoming trial, and once more, Severus could only answer with, "No. Lucius still hasn't come back with the trial date."

Harry slumped. "Sorry. It's just the sooner he's out of the way, the better."

"I know," Severus said, his tone softening a little. He changed the subject. "Barty spoke with his father."

Harry perked up, but Severus didn't look pleased. "It didn't go well?"

"He wouldn't say, which most likely means no."

"Well, Crouch Sr. has always liked his reputation more than his family," Harry said bitterly. "At least Barty's officially free now."

Several smaller sessions had taken place for the Death Eaters in Azkaban, and Bella and Barty went in as well to prove they were no longer loyal to Voldemort. Many of the Death Eaters, including the Lestrange brothers, were sent to Janus Thickey Ward in hopes they could be rehabilitated. The argument for it was if those deemed most dangerous like Bella were allowed to be out and about, perhaps others could follow given time.

The fireplace flashed and Tom stepped in. Ever since he first visited Hogwarts, he had been coming by more often to help Severus go through ingredients and throw out expired ones. Harry was there often as well, which meant Severus was driven up the wall by their constant chatter.

"Tomalongadingdong," Harry greeted him, standing taller to kiss him.

Tom sighed loudly but returned the kiss without hesitation. "Hello to you, too. Hey, Sev, got anything for me to do?"

"Yes. Shut up and let me read," Severus said, narrowing his eyes at them over the book.

"I don't know about shutting up..."

Severus left right then and there.

"Aren't you gonna take your book with you?" Harry called.

Severus paused, summoned the book to him without even turning around, and continued to leave to see Remus.

Upon entering Remus' quarters, Severus saw that Sirius was there as well, balancing precariously on the arm of the couch.

"You look like you're going to fall off any second now," Severus said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said. Remus put his foot on his side, causing Sirius to nearly fall over.

"What brings you here anyway, Sev? Or did you just desire my company?" Remus asked, batting his eyelashes.

"He clearly desired mine," Sirius bragged with a toss of his head.

Remus pushed him again, this time succeeding in making him fall and land on the floor in an undignified heap.

"I was trying to get away from the idiots you call your son and son-in-law, actually," Severus said. He sat down heavily next to Remus, rubbing his eyes. "I just don't get it," he went on. "Harry calls him Tomalongadingdong, which takes much more time and energy than just Tom."

"So would you be okay if I started calling you Sevvie?" Remus said. "It takes less time and energy than Severus."

Severus glowered at him through his fingers. "Not you too!"

Remus tilted his head. "Not me too what?"

Severus continued to glower at him. Then he said, "Five points from Gryffindor."

"Five points to Gryffindor," Remus retorted instantly.

"From."

"To."

"From!"

"To!"

Sirius, still on the floor, flitted his eyes between them like he was watching a ping pong match. "Here we go again," he muttered to himself.

With everything that had changed, Harry actually found himself relieved that at least Filch was still his cantankerous self. He looked Harry over with that familiar suspicious stare, and Mrs. Norris, who wove herself around Filch's feet, narrowed her eyes as Harry passed. Harry resisted the urge to hiss at her.

Draco and Pansy were off together, probably snogging or something, Harry didn't care to find out the hard way. Tracey had wanted to go into Hogsmeade by herself, Daphne and Theo were sure to be all couply, and Blaise didn't even go, leaving Harry to go alone.

Not that he minded, and in fact he didn't feel like socializing much at the moment either anyway. So he went into the shops at his own pace, buying a few things here and perusing other things there. He passed Ron and Hermione, both of whom were holding hands. Hermione blushed when she caught Harry's grin. He spotted Ginny with Dean Thomas and nodded his greeting. Cho Chang was with a few of her friends; they giggled when they saw Harry, as they have been doing ever since Tom first visited Hogwarts.

Some of the professors were out as well. Harry had seen Sprout coming out of the post office and caught a glimpse of Remus inside Zonko's.

Harry headed over to the Three Broomsticks, where he sat in silence taking sips of butterbeer. It was a relief to be away from everything, even if it was only temporary.

He wondered if Elphias Doge still supported Dumbledore, or if he was the only one. Probably not, but Harry took some comfort in knowing they were in the minority. Only some, though; if enough people in the minority fought back, they could become a problem.

Then Harry shook his head, not wanting to think about such troubling thoughts during what should be a relaxing time. He let his gaze wander around the pub, seeing everyone there and not taking in anything in particular.

On his way back to the castle, he met up with Tracey, who had had a similar experience in wandering around hardly speaking to anyone.

"That was fun," she said as they reentered Hogwarts. "Just me, myself, and I."

Harry nodded.

They arrived in the Great Hall to see Draco and Pansy sitting together. They looked a little untidy, but Harry decided to ignore the elephant in the room and began eating.

"You know what?" Pansy said after a moment. "I think I really like having Professor McGonagall as headmistress, don't you?"

The Slytherins murmured in agreement.

"She's not as biased," Daphne remarked. "I mean, I suppose all the professors show a little every once in a while, but Dumbledore was ridiculous."

"Even some of the Gryffindors would probably agree," Blaise said. "I've overheard them enough."

"By the way, Harry," Draco said, "my father wrote to me. Said Dumbledore's trial has been scheduled for the twentieth."

"About time," Harry muttered, scowling.

"Are you going?"

Harry shook his head. "No, the less I see him the better. Sirius and Severus are going, though."

"Not Lupin?" Pansy said.

"No," said Harry with another shake of his head. "I think it's because he'd rather not dwell on his memories." An image of Dobby bringing Remus in flashed in his mind and he pushed it away.

"Probably for the best," Tracey said sympathetically.

Harry murmured agreement and continued eating in silence. At one point, his eyes flitted over to the Ravenclaw table and locked with Luna's. She tilted her head slightly toward the entrance.

Harry blinked in response. Once they were both done eating, they left the Great Hall together.

"What's up?" Harry asked. "No trouble for the trial, I hope?"

"There might be," Luna replied, her eyes bleak. "The Aurors should be extra careful when dealing with Dumbledore."

"Extra careful how?"

"Make sure he cannot run away. Do not let him out of the Aurors' sight. They shouldn't let their guard down."

Harry frowned. "Shouldn't they already know that?"

"They should, but that doesn't mean they'll apply it," Luna pointed out.

"True. All right, I'll tell Severus and he can pass the message to Lucius."

"That'll be good."

Harry headed up to his dorm. Luna's warning had unnerved him and he wondered if something bad would happen regardless.

Well, there isn't anything you can do, he told himself, other than pass Luna's message.

He did before breakfast the following morning, and Severus went to tell Lucius. Harry still didn't feel much better.

In the last chapter, I said I wasn't sure how I was going to write Dumbledore's trial. Well, I figured it out relatively quickly, and you will see it in the next chapter.

Another thing: I am editing Tom's age so that he made the Horcrux when he was fifteen instead of sixteen. So instead of a two-and-a-half year gap, it's one and a half

(I added a note about this in chapter 2 as well for new readers.)