HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 124 Trial

An elderly man led a young man into the Ministry of Magic. Passersby were surprised, even horrified, as the man who claimed to have died in Azkaban appeared before them.

Dumbledore led Barty the young all the way to the courtroom. They might be staying there for a long time today. To ensure Barty had enough stamina, he specially asked Severus to prepare a healing potion, for which he was sarcastically remarked several times.

"Alright, child, I can't accompany you any further, but I'll be on the jury watching over you. Don't be afraid, we're all here."

Dumbledore patted Barty on the shoulder and pushed him forward, while he and Gellert sat in the front row, looking at him encouragingly.

Barty was somewhat dazed. He never imagined he would live to see this day. He had always thought he would die in that cage. Until today, he thought he had simply been transferred to a different cage. He believed that Dumbledore would even fabricate lies like helping him overturn his conviction in order to extract information. He never expected it to be true.

He pondered what he possessed that would warrant Dumbledore's fuss. He didn't believe anyone would act without seeking justice, and even if such a person did, he doubted that such good fortune would befall him.

Little Barty stood silently in the middle, watching the judges in front of him flip through the documents, watching them verify the accuracy of their memories, watching them pull out old judgments, and watching them stamp and annul them.

He didn't say a word, but the retrial ended just like that. It was all Dumbledore's arrangement. Besides saving time and preventing Barty from collapsing, he wanted Barty to see himself declared innocent, which would at least make him feel better.

It had only been a morning since everything had settled down. Dumbledore had thought that even with pressure from Hogwarts, it would take a whole day to complete the process, but he hadn't expected it to be so quick today. He regretted not seeking out Severus.

"Let's go, today deserves a celebration, how about we go on a picnic?"

Back in Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore pulled Gellert and Barty Jr. outside; the sun was shining brightly, perfect for a picnic.

Gellert was reluctant; he was happy to have a picnic with Dumbledore alone, but he didn't want a third person with them. Barty, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind, following Dumbledore's lead and walking outside, also thinking how lovely the sunshine was.

Dumbledore found a particularly large tree, spread out a picnic mat in its shade, and soon the house-elves appeared with a huge pile of food, covering the entire mat. It was all kinds of bread and desserts, making Gellert's teeth ache. He resisted the urge to stop them, not wanting Dumbledore to lose face in public.

It was lunchtime, and the three of them were quite hungry. They each picked out their favorite foods and ate heartily without saying a word. Soon, a third of the food was gone, and all three were stuffed.

"What are your thoughts next?" Dumbledore asked curiously, wondering if Barty Jr. would agree with his idea.

"Not yet, but I'll move out as soon as possible." Barty thought Dumbledore had finally lost his temper and wanted to get something from him.

Dumbledore took out a teaching contract and handed it to Barty Jr. Only after seeing that he had accepted it did he explain, "If you have no other ideas, then come to Hogwarts. There's a vacancy for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I think with your past achievements, teaching these children will be very easy for you."

Unfortunately, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor changes every year, and he was too busy to look for one this year. Since Barty was aimless and had excellent grades in school, making him a perfect professor, it's no wonder he was fooled.

Barty Jr. didn't understand what Dumbledore was trying to do, and looked at him with confusion. "Why me? You couldn't possibly not be able to find someone."

"Actually, I really can't find anyone else." Dumbledore didn't hide anything from him, revealing his own thoughts as well. "If you'd like, please protect Harry. There will be a tri-school tournament next school year, and I'm afraid someone might take advantage of the chaos to harm him. Of course, it's okay if you don't want to; just consider it a chance to relive school life at Hogwarts."

Severus has new concerns, and Harry has fallen out of his league. With another competition coming up next semester, Dumbledore knows he won't have the energy to keep an eye on Harry all the time.

"Okay." Little Barty heard himself say that, since he had nowhere else to go anyway, right?

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"Why do I feel a chill down my spine?" Harry whispered to Draco, wondering if Lucius had sensed something.

"It's all in your head. Don't move around too much or Dad might actually find out something." Draco pushed Harry away as he leaned in. He didn't know if Lucius was tacitly approving or if he really hadn't noticed, but anyway, it was always better to be careful than to get so close in front of him.

Harry obediently sat back down, his eyes fixed on the stage below. Although he didn't understand what the band was performing, Harry pretended he did; Lucius's elite education had taught him quite a bit.

At least now his perspective and manner of dealing with people have taken on some of the characteristics of the Malfoy family, which makes Lucius willing to bring Harry to family events, such as this concert. The two adults and two children sat upright, and to outsiders, apart from their hair and eye colors, they looked exactly like a family.

As the last note faded, the conductor on stage bowed deeply. Narcissa, arm in arm with Lucius, left the box, followed by Draco and Harry. "Harry, are you coming with us tonight, or will the driver take you home?" she asked gently.

"I told my aunt I'm not going home tonight." To avoid revealing Lily's identity and putting Emeric in danger, he called her "aunt" in public.

"Alright, is there anywhere else you'd like to visit?"

"That's all." x2

Once she was sure neither of the children wanted to play any longer, Narcissa asked Lucius to call the driver. She didn't want their enjoyable family time to end in disappointment.

"Go take a shower first." Draco noticed Harry's exhaustion and pushed him into the bathroom, telling him to shower and go to sleep first.

"Okay, I'll hurry up then." Harry didn't refuse and followed Draco's lead inside; he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Anyone who had trained all day and then sat through a two-hour concert would be so tired they'd want to just collapse and fall asleep.

Draco was alright; his training intensity was nowhere near Harry's, so he still had the energy to read for a while and reply to other people's letters.

Not long after, Harry emerged from the bathroom, still damp with sweat, and stood behind Draco, embracing him and breathing warmly into his ear.

"Stop whining. If you're sleepy, just lie down and go to bed. I'll take a shower after I finish reading." Draco patted Harry's arm. He still had some things to read, and he couldn't fall asleep until he finished them.

"Then I'll keep you company." Harry sat down next to Draco, letting him watch alone. He might not sleep until midnight, and having him with him would at least keep him in check.

"call..."

A moment later, Harry's even breathing filled the air; he had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Draco sighed, woke him up, and assured him that he would take a bath right away.

As Harry lay down on the bed, the sound of water came from the bathroom. Draco could never persuade him otherwise, and he always had to go to bed on time.