Louis must have been dropped back at school some time in the afternoon, because he came home down the street like usual, kicking up snow. Harry was waiting for him on the front steps, sitting on his skateboard since dry bits were hard to find at this time of year. "Louis is here!" he called into the house, and the boys rushed up to see him, coming outside.
"So Mum took you back to school," said Liam, when Louis was close enough to talk to. He'd taken the tie off but still looked so grown up, thought Harry.
"Yeah, after lunch," said Louis. He reached the bottom of the steps, and began to climb up.
"How did it go?" asked Zayn.
Louis dropped his bag into the snow, and leaned against a pillar on the step below Harry. "I don't know. It was so hard to know what the judge was thinking."
"You got examined, and cross-examined, right?" said Liam, who watched the odd crime drama.
"Yeah. My lawyers were cool. My dad's lawyers weren't. They kept asking all sorts of stupid questions, about if Ms Curtis had ever been violent, if we had enough clothes and things; stupid stuff."
"But Mum has never been violent," said Liam. "And the records would show that."
"They just want to put the idea in the judge's mind, the lawyer says. The judge has already had the tesimony about Ms Curtis' violent boyfriend from the past, and they even brought up the stuff about Coach Morrison to make Ms Curtis look bad. My father's lawyers are trying to make an association, says my lawyer."
"Your father's lawyers are scum of the earth," said Niall.
"I told the court I wanted to look after Harry. The judge didn't even know who Harry was. The judge doesn't know any of you guys."
"We're planning to rectify that," said Liam. "I'm going to call up your lawyers, see if they'll let us testify."
"Would you?' said Louis.
"It seems the obvious solution. That way we can get across how well you're doing with Mum's care, and how well Mum is doing to look after you."
"I don't know if they'll listen," said Louis. "They're worried about the trial deadline, which is close. If it goes over allocated time, they have to make extra dates, and it could be months before we get a decision."
"That's another few months you'll get with us," Liam pointed out.
"I hate this. I hate the not knowing."
"I'm sure our testimony will help you."
"Yeah, yeah," said Louis. "Do it, then."
"Give me your lawyers' card," said Liam, and Louis fished in his back trouser pocket and handed it over. "I'm going to call them now," he said, standing up. "I'll be as persuasive as possible."
"Good luck, Liam," said Louis.
Liam gave him the thumbs-up gesture and went inside.
"How can the judge make the correct decision if he doesn't even know any of you guys?" said Louis.
"We'll testify," said Niall. "You can bet on that."
Liam eventually came back out. "I managed to convince your lawyers to call me to the stand," he told Louis. "Not the rest, I'm afraid. I'll be everyone's representative."
Immediately, Liam was swamped with comments as to what he should say from all the boys, including Harry. That Louis had stabilised under Ms Curtis' influence, that Louis was the best big brother, that Louis helped them out with their homework whenever they asked. That they couldn't function properly without Louis. That he was integral to their family.
