Old Courtroom Ten
Chapter 14
Old Courtroom Ten
Harry awoke with a sense of apprehension. Draco Malfoy's trial was to start today. It seemed like an open and shut case. Those, however, had a tendency to go awry. He'd never trusted Malfoy. There were enough Death Eaters still around to make this a dangerous hearing. As the apprehending officer, he'd be required to testify. It would be a pleasure. Harry smiled to himself as he dressed. He put on his standard uniform. He normally wore jeans and robes to work, however since he would be at the Ministry in an official capacity, he was stuck in uniform. "Maybe Hermione will be there. We can have lunch together." he thought as he donned his shiny shoes. With a quick check in the mirror, which nagged him about his hair yet again, he was off.
He arrived at the Ministry with plenty of time to spare. He met his boss in the atrium.
"Potter," Shacklebolt ordered, "Since you are testifying, you won't be in the courtroom. I want the hallway outside it secure. You've got your scrambler?"
"Yes," Harry responded.
"Good. No heroics. I want you in one piece to testify. Call for backup before you think you need it." Shacklebolt charged.
"I will," Harry promised. "Nothing can keep me from testifying against that smarmy git. I've been looking forward to this for too long."
Harry patrolled the halls on constant alert. So far he'd only had to clear the hall of reporters and autograph seekers twice, stop late comers from entering when court was in session, and greet the Wizengamot as they arrived. He was glad of the duty, boring as it was, rather than sitting in a stuffy room with other witnesses.
He was glad the rest of his team were there patrolling the upper floors and screening the people who had no reason to be down on this floor. It made his job easier, more tedious, but easier. He had enough to be going on with than playing referee.
Harry heard a noise around the corner. He felt his nerves go on alert; however he dismissed it as the presence of the many Death Eaters there on trial. He peered around the corner, felt a blow to the back of his head and dropped as his world faded to black.
As he slowly regained consciousness, Harry went through his mental checklist. He carefully moved his arms, then legs fractionally to verify their strength. "Arms, bound but ok; legs, also bound and shaky, but uninjured; head, painful yet clear." He opened his eyes a slit as he observed his surroundings through his lashes. He didn't recognize where he was.
"Decided to wake up, did you?" sneered a familiar voice from across the darkened room. "You didn't really think that your band of miscreants could send me to Azkaban, did you?"
Harry opened his eyes fully to glare fully into the face of Draco Malfoy. He futilely searched his memory to determine what had happened. He remembered he was patrolling the corridor outside the courtroom and that was all.
"We're the miscreants, are we?" Harry rasped. "Funny you should see it that way, Malfoy."
"Don't say my name, you dolt! Do you want to get us killed?"
"What is this?" Harry inquired. "No honor among thieves? You should pick your friends more carefully, MALFOY."
"If we make it out of here alive, I am going to personally kill you, Potter." Malfoy scoffed.
"Let me see if I have this story correct. You were on trial. Your merry band of Death Eaters break you out. The other division of criminals, seeing the ultimate opportunity, attacked your group at the Ministry, so you and I are hiding. So, tell me, who thumped me?"
"That was me," Draco said with pride. "You really shouldn't turn your back on people in your line of work. It could prove to be…deadly."
Harry snorted his disgust and began to take in his surroundings, cataloging every detail should the chance to escape arise. He'd determined he was still at the Ministry from the sounds he could hear. Then it hit him. He was in Old Courtroom 10. He was quite familiar with this room, even though it was seldom used. He'd been in a hearing here at the age of 15. He'd seen a Death Eater trial here in Dumbledore's Pensieve, when he was 14. He'd just be patient and wait for a chance to escape. No mere conjured ropes had held him yet. He watched Malfoy closely. He slipped his hand carefully to feel for his wand.
"Do you think I'm stupid, Scarhead?" Malfoy snarled as he twirled a wand in each hand. "That I would bind your hands and feet, but leave you with your wand? What type of idiot do you take me for?"
"You just answered your own question, Malfoy," argued Harry, which earned him a hard blow to his stomach. Harry spat out blood as he ran several possible scenarios through his brain and rejected each one in turn. He decided to wait a bit to see what would transpire.
The door crashed open, momentarily blinding Harry in light. "Is he ready?" called a gruff voice.
"Almost," answered Malfoy. "Give me another five minutes to prepare him for transfer."
That statement gave Harry all the information he needed. He would have five more minutes alone with Malfoy and if he left here, he was a dead man. When the unknown Death Eater closed the door, Malfoy immediately took a swing at Harry. Harry ducked and centered himself for a hefty amount of wandless magic. It only took a moment. When he was ready, he immediately freed himself from the bindings and set the strongest shield around himself he could manage. As Malfoy's spells bounced off the shield with a clang, Harry gathered his strength for the fight he knew was imminent. He detected Malfoy's fury rising and prepared for the attack.
Malfoy lunged at Harry in an attempt to knock him from his feet. Harry held the shield charm and felt Malfoy collide into it with a satisfying thud. Harry released the charm and dove at Malfoy. He told himself that since he's been denied the chance to testify against the ferret, he'd console himself with beating the stuffing out of him.
"Accio!" Harry called and his wand flew toward him. He caught it in midair and immediately fired off spell after spell. He dueled viciously with Malfoy for several minutes before the door blasted open and several more Death Eaters joined the battle. Harry, perceiving the escalation, went immediately on defense. He knew he had erred by not attempting to escape earlier, however he couldn't have passed on this opportunity to capture more Death Eaters. He stealthily reached for his scrambler and activated it. His superiors and team would hear and record every word that was said. He wished he'd thought of this before now.
As Harry dueled, he shouted out clues for his fellow Aurors to follow. To his surprise more Death Eaters joined the fray and the divisions were battling each other as well as him. He was greatly outnumbered and tiring quickly. The last thing he remembered was the distant sound of the Aurors arriving.
Harry opened his eyes minutely to survey his surroundings. Feeling like he'd been run over by the Hogwarts Express, he swore violently to himself. He saw a group in Death Eater robes across the way. He was in the same graveyard as when Voldemort returned nine years ago. "Well" he consoled himself. "At least I'm familiar with the territory." He raised his aching head a fraction to check his surroundings. He was bound like a mummy. His captors were unaware that he'd regained consciousness. He gathered all the strength he could muster and attempted to apparate to the Burrow.
When Harry again opened his eyes, he immediately knew that he wasn't at his desired destination.
"Mr. Potter!" shrieked his former Professor. "Whatever are you doing here? Come for a refresher in Charms?" The students snickered at their desks and watched the exchange attentively.
"Sorry, Professor Flitwick," Harry replied weakly. "Seeing as I'm a bit tied up at the moment, could I trouble you for a hand?"
The Professor dismissed his class and levitated Harry toward the hospital wing. "What fine mess have you gotten yourself into this time, Potter? There's not an inch of you showing that isn't encrusted in blood, your own, I presume?"
"Probably," Harry responded confused. He had tried to apparate to the Burrow, where he'd apparated many times before and wound up in the Charms classroom, in Hogwarts, where apparition was impossible. "How did I get here? What's happened?"
"I assure you I have no idea." said the diminutive teacher. "Where were you going when you apparated?"
"The Burrow," Harry groaned. "I was captured. I needed to get somewhere safe."
"Did you specifically think of the Burrow or mainly getting to safety?" Flitwick asked.
"I don't remember" Harry answered weakly.
They arrived at the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey met them at the door and directed the floating bundle that contained Harry to his regular bed.
"I didn't remove the bindings as I couldn't ascertain the severity of his injuries," the diminutive professor explained to the nurse. "I daresay he won't be conscious much longer. I'll contact Ministry headquarters to relay his arrival."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry sighed and closed his eyes.
The next time Harry awoke, he again didn't immediately recognize his surroundings. He licked his dry lips and reached for his glasses. A straw appeared before his mouth and he drank deeply.
"Careful, mate. Not too much." Ron pulled the glass slightly away from Harry's mouth.
"Where am I?" Harry asked weakly.
"St Mungo's" answered Ron. "You were in bad shape. Madam Pomfrey sent you here."
"Am I in trouble?" asked Harry attempting to sit up. "Did any Death Eaters get caught?"
"Easy, mate." Ron cautioned. "You were brilliant. Shacklebolt has been raving how you left the scrambler on for evidence. They got them, well, most of them, even Malfoy! They've been mostly squealing like schoolgirls to try and get lighter sentences. It's over. You did it." Ron beamed at his friend.
Harry tried to smile. His eyes felt heavy, but he didn't want to sleep and fought futilely against it. He wanted to find out what had happened. He lost the struggle and allowed his eyes to drift closed again.
Harry was pleasantly surprised to find he'd awakened in the same place he was when he fell asleep. He didn't like staying at St Mungo's, quite the opposite. He was just glad to be able to recognize his surroundings, fuzzy though they may be.
"You've decided to join us again, have you?" Tonks pronounce as she handed him his glasses.
"Hey, Tonks" he returned feebly. Harry didn't remember ever feeling this tired before. He attempted to run through his regular body check, however found he didn't have the energy. "So how am I doing?" he asked.
"Let me just let the Healer know you are back with us. I'll be right back and answer all of your questions," and she fled the room.
The Healer checked him over and explained his injuries extensively. Harry took a myriad of potions and waited for someone to come and fill him in. He wasn't a patient person and he was reaching the end of his limit.
Kingsley Shacklebolt strode through the door. "Potter, how are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Harry lied. "What happened? Is everyone okay? Did they all get back safely?"
Shacklebolt held up his hands to slow the rapid fire questions Harry was asking. "Harry…" his superior began. "First let me say that it has been honor to work with you. Your quick thinking saved a multitude of lives last week…"
Harry made a mental note that a week had passed and that Shacklebolt was speaking in past tense. He was getting fired or relieved of duty, he realized.
"Leaving your scrambler on was a stroke of genius," Shacklebolt went on. "The clues you gave were impeccable. It is due to your hard work that most of both factions of Death Eaters have either been captured or surrendered. Mistakes were made…" Harry hung his head in shame. "…but the end result justified the means." Shacklebolt looked at Harry's expression. "I didn't say you made mistakes, Harry. You performed flawlessly. I couldn't ask for more than what you did."
But, Sir…" Harry countered. "I should've gotten away quicker. I should've…"
"Harry, remember your training. Gut instinct is what saves your life in the field and you, Son, have the best instincts I've ever seen."
Harry felt relieved. "Sir?" he started, although he didn't really want to know the answer to his question. "Am I still an Auror? Do I still have a job?"
"I can't answer that." his boss replied. "The Healers are trying to determine the extent of the damage. I won't lie to you. They don't know why you are even still alive. A weaker man would have snuffed it long before you apparated. I won't even go into how the hell you apparated to Hogwarts. Don't worry on it now. Just concentrate on getting better." With that Kingsley Shacklebolt strolled from the room.