Cared For

Chapter 11: The Trail

Updated: 30th March, 2019

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Minerva felt so bad for leaving Harry behind as she heard him banging on the door. She reassured herself with the thought that he would calm down since Severus was with him. She let this thought run through her head all throughout the short journey to the Ministry.

She arrived at the Ministry, not a moment too late. The entire Wizengamot convention had arrived and Dumbledore was in the witness box. Thank god, she had him on her side. She might have full custody on Harry.

"Hello, Minerva." Dumbledore called out, a slight smile on his face. She made her way to him. "Thank you." she whispered and planted a small kiss on his cheek before making her way to her assigned place.

Two hours into the trial and things weren't looking too good. After a lot of convincing, she had been let off for threatening the Dursleys with nothing more than a warning. But the convention wasn't very keen on letting Harry stay with her for the fear that the lack of blood wards would make him more vulnerable to the Death Eaters and were trying to find a suitable guardian for him.

"You are not his legal guardian. He must be sent to a blood guardian or anyone written in the Potter's will. Black will not do, nor the werewolf." a Ministry official had said. They had also said that they believed that he would be safer and happier with one of Lily's distant cousins in America! That would mean that not only would he be away, but she would never see him ever again. 

She had tried so hard to fight her case, but even Dumbledore couldn't help her. She was full of rage and sorrow. Her rage got the better and cast a hex at the entire convention.

"Minerva!" Dumbledore gasped as a guard came and took her wand away. The entire court fell quiet and she swore she could hear someone calling out Harry's name. As she strained her ears to hear his name again, the door burst open.

It was a formerly crying Harry. He looked at Minerva and ran towards her, but was stopped by another official who was close to the door. "Mimmie.." he whined. "Why Mimmie sad?" he asked after having a good look at her face.

"Because," the official explained, "you will have to go somewhere else, away from her." 

After hearing this, Harry had a fit. He started thrashing around and attempted to hit the official, but his flailing hand was stopped. "WANNA STAY! WANNA STAY HERE!" he exclaimed. He finally got past her and ran to the podium where Minerva was standing. A couple of people couldn't help but coo at this sight.

"And that concludes our case. Harry will be best if he stays here. He will be safe here in Hogwarts and happy." Dumbledore called out.

A whisper broke out amongst the court and the judge was discussing with his colleagues. Finally, he made a decision. "It will be best if he stays here with Minerva McGonagall. The settlement will be made final after she signs the adoption papers. Court dismissed!" he exclaimed and banged the gavel, signifying the end of the trial.

Minerva was beyond ecstatic. She picked up the crying boy and hugged him close to her, quietly soothing him as well as they made their way out of the courtroom. 

"Harry!" a voice echoed across the hallway as Professor Sprout rushed to them. Minerva was confused, she had left him with Severus. "Pomona? Where is Severus?" she inquired. Upon hearing this, Harry restarted his cry.

"I be'ed bad and Ev'us be ma-a-ad." he managed to say through choked sobs. Minerva gave Sprout a confused look, asking for an explanation. 

"Severus was quite mad about something. He just gave him to me and walked off." the plump witch explained. After a while, they soon both made their way back to Hogwarts.

**Page Break**

For the rest of the day, Harry didn't leave Minerva's side. If she went to the kitchen, he came with her. If she went to her study, he followed. Even when she went to the bathroom, Harry attempted to follow along, and cried for the entire duration of her stay in there. 

That night, as Harry was getting ready for bed, he grabbed her arm and with as much force as he could apply, he pulled her towards him. "Don' send me 'way. I sowwy." he whimpered. She felt so bad and laid down in bed with him. "Harry, I'm not sending you away. I promise." she consoled him. "Can you tell me what happened with Severus?" she asked.

"I gwabbed his magic stick and made boom." he whispered as he snuggled close to her. They laid there for a while and they soon fell asleep.

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Sorry for the chapter being so short. I promise the next chapter will be longer and better. It had only been three days since I last uploaded and it feels like a lifetime, I really am getting addicted to writing. :-)