The Trial of Potter

Prologue

The population of Wizarding Britain was rejoicing. After a grueling three year war, Evan Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, had defeated Voldemort. Celebrations were takingplace nearly every hour. Award ceremonies and memorials were being planned. Businesses that had closed during the war were reopening, and it was predicted they would be flourishing in a matter of months. The Ministry of Magic was getting back on its feet. People were being hired and promoted, and certain departments were being reorganized. Most importantly, it was starting to prosecute Death Eaters.

Many of the more notorious Death Eaters such as Bellatrix Lestrange had been killed in the numerous battles throughout the war. Thankfully, there had never been one huge final battle as everyone thought would be necessary to take out Voldemort. The Department of Mysteries had managed to find a weak spot in the wards of the Dark Lord's main headquarters. No one knew how the Unspeakables had managed to study said wards, and no one asked. Using this intelligence, a seventeen-year-old Evan and a group of Hit-Wizards had managed to overpower the forces there, including Voldemort. Death Eaters had been captured, mostly low-ranking ones. Severus Snape's body had been found in one of the manor's empty rooms. The time of death was declared to be about a month ago. And though it would've been nice to capture Snape, they got the next best person: Harry Potter.

Everyone knew the story of Harry Potter. The eldest Potter son, Harry was sorted into Gryffindor in 1987. Most would say that his first three years at Hogwarts were fairly normal. Naturally brilliant though not particularly hardworking and a talented Quidditch seeker, Harry was very popular amongst his classmates. He had several girlfriends over the course of his time there but none of them serious. It was due to Harry's tremendous popularity that no one, even the Slytherins, dared to mess with his younger brothers once they came to Hogwarts. Evan, also sorted into Gryffindor in 1991, was painfully shy, and he tended to avoid crowds of people, sticking to a very select group of friends. Mark, sorted into Hufflepuff in 1993, was kind but quiet, sticking to the comfortable environment his housemates provided. And though Evan's years at Hogwarts always seemed to be filled with adventures and drama, those of his older and younger brothers went by normally. Until Harry's 7th year.

It was the year the Triwizard Tournament came to Hogwarts, the year the then only fourteen-year-old Evan's name came out of the Goblet. It was the year Voldemort was resurrected. It was also the year that there was a remarkable change in Harry Potter. Once cheerful and charismatic, he was now withdrawn and sullen, often snapping at anyone who tried to prod answers out of him. He tended to disappear for long periods of time. His family was worried about him. His friends were worried about him.

By the end of the year, it was clear their worries were well-founded. Harry Potter, once the Gryffindor Golden Boy, was now a Death Eater in Lord Voldemort's service, elevated to top status by murdering Alastor Moody, his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. This revelation rocked a lot of people's boats. The Potters were devastated by this news. James Potter forbade the use of Harry's name in their home. An Auror for nearly twenty years, he was angered and ashamed by his eldest son's deflection to the Dark. Lily Potter, on the other hand, was just upset, wondering what she had done as a mother to make her son hate them so much. Mark and Evan were confused, wondering what had happened to the older brother they had worshipped, the one who had always made time to play Quidditch with them at school. Harry's friends had searched their memories for something, anything, that would've indicated the dark path he would chose to take. Nothing could be found. Harry Potter was remembered as a good friend who had loved Quidditch and whose laugh seem to be in use as naturally as one moved their arm.

And though no one knew what drove harry to the Dark side, it was known that he succeeded there. Though most of his grades at school were fairly impressive, there was one class in particular where Harry really shined: Defense Against the Dark Arts. He proved to have an intensely strategic mind, a instinctual understanding of dueling, and the keen awareness of where his opponent was at all times. Harry was so good that he earned a compliment from Alastor Moody, a fact that nearly gave one of his former trainees, Nymphadora Tonks, a stroke when she heard it. It was unheard of to get a compliment from Moody. Hell, even Dumbledore had never gotten a direct honest-to-Merlin compliment from Moody like the one the man gave Harry Potter. It was an irony that none missed when Moody died at Harry's wand. It was Harry's exceptional dueling skills and natural charisma that elevated him into the top rank Voldemort's followers. It didn't take long for him to be considered the Dark Lord's right hand man, second only to Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemort's most devoted servant and Harry's occasional lover. And now he was on trial for war crimes.

The trial was to be a huge spectacle. Most of the most notorious, feared Death Eaters had died throughout the course of the war, and Harry would be the only big name to stand trial. He was being tried for unspecified war crimes because, despite being a highly ranked Death Eater, they had not been able to find evidence of Harry leading any raids or committing any murder other than that of Moody, which the now deceased Dumbledore had convinced the then Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement not to prosecute. Amelia Bones, now the interim war Minister of Magic, was to preside over the trial since Dumbledore's position had not been filled in the frenzied year since his death. It was assumed that Daphne Greengrass would be prosecuting the case, a fact that gave most of Wizarding Britain a great deal of relief.

Known for her elegant beauty and sharp wit, Daphne Greengrass was an enigma to most. Born into a neutral Pureblood family, Daphne started Hogwarts the same year as Harry. Sorted into Slytherin, she soon earned the reputation of Ice Princess. It was a mask, a good one to be sure, but it sent a message to everyone, particularly boys: Don't try to get close. Daphne wasn't super popular in her house. Unlike many of her housemates, she was a Slytherin at heart and thus didn't approve of much of their blatant idiocy, particularly of Theodore Nott, who decided he had to have her 3rd year. Daphne's two close friends were Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis, who eloped immediately after graduated and followed Blaise's mother to France to escape the imploding political climate of a country on the brink of war. Daphne's family, afraid of being forced to join the Dark Lord, also fled to France, enrolling her then 15 year old sister into Beauxbaton.

To the surprise of the aforementioned people, Daphne chose to stay in England and start legal training. It didn't take long for her to obtain a law degree as it was a less lengthy but equally difficult process than in the Muggle world. To everyone's surprise, Daphne then took a job as a prosecuting attorney in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was well-known for her tireless prosecution of Death Eaters and her stubborn insistence on not closing a case until she had gotten the truth out of the defendant.

It was not a surprise to think that the thought of such a women prosecuting Harry Potter was comforting to the public. What no one, not the Daily Prophet or any in her Department (other than her boss and the other attorney involved), or even Harry sitting in his holding cell at Azakban, knew was that Daphne was not planning on prosecuting Harry Potter. She was planning on defending him.