"I just thought I could change him." Ginny said.
She and Harry watched as Eve played on the beach, chasing the waves and running on the beach when they approached.
"Why would you want to?" Harry took his eyes off of Eve for a moment to look at his wife.
Ginny's eyes did not connect with his, and she stared at the ground, "He told me he liked me... I thought there must have been something good, something deep down, that wanted someone to come along and tell him he didn't have to be hard to be liked. "
"He never deserved you." Harry paused for a long moment, "*I* don't deserve you."
Ginny smiled and laughed lightly, "I don't see how anyone can resist you. You make it very hard not to fall in love with you Mr. Potter."
"Likewise Mrs. Potter." Harry took the water he was drinking and splashed it on her.
She laughed and have him a shocked, 'you did not just do that... you'll pay' look. Before she could do the same to him Harry had run onto the shoreline and when Ginny got up, used his daughter as a human shield between him and his wife.
Ginny promptly shoved him in the water.
* * *
"This court is now in session. The honorable council on parental affairs is presiding." A sickly looking man at the corner of the room said.
The council's group of desks at the head of the room stood at least six feet tall, and each one of them looked sever. The entire room seemed to be made of wood, a dark foreboding colour. Harry noticed on one side of the room sat Malfoy and his mother, both pretending to look pained, with a young witch lawyer at their table.
On his side the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy, and all people who had married into the Weasley family, as well as Hermione, and Dumbledore sat with him. Harry had no lawyer, only Dumbledore.
The middle judge, an older man with small glasses that did not fit his face, looked at both sides then coughed loudly.
"No reporters Miss Granger, this is a case involving a minor, you know the rules..." He said in a gravily monotone voice.
"I'm here for moral support; I'm here as a friend, not a reporter." She said from her seat behind Harry.
The old man turned to the sickly man in the corner, "Have Miss Granger sign a confidentiality agreement."
The sickly man got up and walked lazily over to a door on the other side of the desks.
"Exciting, isn't it Harry?" Dumbledore said rather happily.
Harry felt like bashing his brains into his desk.
"All right. So the plaintiff of the case, Mr. Potter, says that Mr. Malfoy made a verbal contract so as to Mr. Potter would get custody of the child, Eve Potter. Mr. Malfoy is suing for full custody of the child, is that it?" The old wizard asked.
"Yes it is." Dumbledore said.
"Yes," said the Malfoy's lawyer said.
"Mr. Malfoy, what happened in your own words?" The old judge's monotone voice rang out in the large empty room.
Malfoy faked holding back tears and said, "It's true, when I was young I didn't look on fatherhood as a favorable thing, but over the years... I wanted to be a father, I wanted to find my child and get to know her, be the father she never had-"
At that Harry gouged the wood of the table with his fingers, trying to restrain himself.
"I wasn't able to find her mother, and when her mother died... I tried to talk to Mr. Potter about seeing her, but he threatened me. Finally when I did talk him into seeing me, he tried to give me money but I refused. Then I heard rumors that he had hurt my Eve, I only want to see my daughter..."
Both his mother and his lawyer came in close, trying to comfort him.
"Mr. Potter, in your own words..."
Harry had to take a couple of moments to collect himself so he wouldn't maim Malfoy.
"Ginny and I talked after he told her, 'good luck with that' when she told him the news of her pregnancy. She was heart broken, so we went away. When Ginny... passed, and we went to the reading of her will, Mr. Malfoy approached me and said a derogatory thing about my late wife, then asked if 'his' daughter was anything like her. I admit I acted rashly, but after I had cooled down Mr. Malfoy contacted me about Eve. I went to see him and he told me if I didn't give him every cent I had he would take her away from me. I gave him all my money, then the article came out."
Harry tried to make his voice stay as monotone as the old man's, but wasn't able to hold it the entire time.
"I would like to submit these," Dumbledore took out some manila folders and levitated them over to the lead judge, "they are Eve Potter's medical records. They show the times she went into the hospital, and that more than once Mr. Potter brought her in when she could have just stayed home. This hopefully shows the council that he has always been a very cautious father, that his daughter's health means a great deal to him, and that the allegations Mr. Malfoy brought to the court are erroneous."
"Both sides shall submit all their evidence to the council, we will deliberate and tell you our judgment when we find one."
The group of judges exited through a side door and Harry was looking from their retreating figures to Dumbledore. Once they were out and people started to get up Harry stood and banged his fist on the table.
"That's it?! That's the entire case?"
"Of course Harry." Dumbledore said, looking too happy to be where he was.
"But aren't we going to bring up witnesses, or I don't know, something more!" Harry yelled.
Every one of the people on his side of the room, minus Dumbledore, were trying to quiet him down, but failing rather badly.
"These are how things are done Harry," Dumbledore said calmly, "The council tries to bring as little emotion into the matter as possible."
"Emotion is all I've got! I don't stand a chance if you don't bring the way I feel into it, the fact that I'm her dad! Without the emotion you've just got a father fighting to see his daughter, and on the other side someone who is known to have killed at least one person!"
"No really Harry," Dumbledore started, "that's going a bit far don't you think? Counting Tom as a person..."
"Harry, don't worry about it mate," George said.
"We'll kill the whole panel if they rule against you-" Fred added.
"And just keep killing council after council-" George interjected
"Until one of them votes your way." Fred finished.
"Thanks," Harry said feeling rather hopeless, "That really helps me."
He sat down and put his head on the wooden table. He could hear people behind him talking in whispered hushes, and he heard Malfoy laugh at least twice. His hands were sweaty, he felt as if the beating of his heart would break his chest. A cold sweat covered his face, he was sure he was having a heart attack. He felt the sudden urge to yell out 'I'm coming Ginerva!' but fought through it.
He felt a warm hand touch his and he lifted his head to see Hermione crouching down next to the table where he was. She looked worried, which usually meant that she was awake, but it was more so this time.
"How are you Harry?" She whispered in a soothing tone.
"Dying of fright, you?" He said in a whisper, but the most forceful a whisper could be.
"Harry, he can't harm Eve, if he tries the Prophet will expose him, we'll follow him night and day, go through his garbage, everything. Not that we'll need to of course, we'll win, I just know it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because, well, you're Harry Potter."
* * *
"Yes I am, and you just happen to be Mrs. Potter, don't you?" Harry said smiling.
Ginny couldn't help but giggle and curtsey in her overalls. Hanging wallpaper in the new home they had just bought seemed a lot more troublesome then they thought it would be. Ginny was six months pregnant, and not allowed to do any real work, just putting the wallpaper in the water.
She seemed to watch him for a long moment, then smiled to herself, and seemed to try to shake the thought away.
"What was that smile for? Dreaming of me in a tutu again?"
She laughed out loud at that, but shook her head.
"No Harry, just... Well it was so easy for me to fall for you the first time... what does it take to catch the eye of Harry Potter? Why did you fall in love with Hermione?"
Harry failed to see the lighthearted part of this conversation; he stopped smiling, and went back to trying to get air bubbles out of the wallpaper on the walls.
"I don't know." He said, even surprising himself with the fact that he was indeed going to talk to her about this.
Their conversations before had been kept as lighthearted as possible, none of them really wanting to feel what they had just gone through.
"She was always there, she always wanted what was best for me even if I didn't."
Ginny laughed, "that would make her more your mother than a potential lover."
"But no one ever cared about me before enough to worry about me. If someone was worried it was for their sake, not because of me. I thought that, well I was under the mistaken idea, that she loved me. That was the reason why she would go to all the Quidditch games, or why she did everything to make me safe, or made that awful green stuff after my detentions with Umbrige. And that when she believes in something she goes into it full force, ready to take on all that oppose her. I also... It's stupid but I liked the way when she was really frightened she would grab my arm. She's a smart witch and could have done any of that stuff on her own, but she would grab *my* arm..."
He turned to Ginny who was looking at him big eyed and lip quivering. She crossed the small space and hugged him to her. Harry didn't feel he need a hug, but gave in anyway.
And after a few moments realized, he did need that.
* * *
"The council had reached a decision!" The sickly looking man's voice rang out in the open room.
The council came back in and everyone looked the same, except for the monotone old man. He looked rather determined.
"Well now," his voice was finally sharp and resounded some emotion, "As for this case... I should tell you that we can see everything you do when we are back in chambers. And while Mr. Potter seemed to need medical attention, Mr. Malfoy found comedy in the experience of having to fight for the custody of his daughter from a man, who he believes abuses her."
His hand went up as Malfoy tried to speak.
"You know you are not allowed to talk as we are ruling."
Malfoy looked positively mad, and Harry didn't care. He just wanted him to get on with it. Stop talking and just say whether he got to keep his daughter.
"The evidence of the child's marks in school show good grades throughout, and the letter to the court from the child professes that he is the most qualified father she could have."
Harry wondered when Eve had written the court, but pushed that aside as the old man went on.
"And we have to agree. While this court usually sides with the biological parent, we see that only as a determent to the child to try to put her in that situation. We award custody to Mr. Potter. We also are giving him his property back, all of it, and the court would like to remind Mr. Malfoy that selling one's daughter is illegal. The case of the matter is now closed."
Harry felt as if his brain and heart were dancing the tango in celebration, he didn't know how exactly to let out what he was feeling. So he went down the line of Weasley's and hugged each one of them with a silly grin on his face. When he got to her, he picked up Luna and twirled her in the air, then kissed her on the cheek. She was the only one who seemed to share his enthusiasm. Harry then without thinking hugged Dumbledore who muttered, 'that's quite alright... anytime..' He got to Hermione and hugged her tighter than he had hugged anyone else and she gave out a 'Harry... need air... need breathing!'
He let go of her and looked to the rest of the group, "I... Right."
He walked off heading home to Lilly, and as he passed Malfoy he felt that nothing could make this day any better.