Thicker than Water (Marauders Era) PART II

5 August, 1995 - Enough (II)

Lavinia sat as still as she could, staring at the table, listening to everyone departing in a flurry of murmured goodbyes and promises to come back soon. She didn't know how long it took, but eventually only Molly, Arthur, Sirius, Remus and Lavinia were left at the now rather empty kitchen table. Molly and Arthur were sitting close to each other, looking stressed, no doubt each considering what they would do once Harry was here. Sirius, Lavinia refused to look at and Remus... well Lavinia didn't know why Remus had stayed. Part of her, an awful, selfish part of her, wished he hadn't. She didn't want to see his condemnation too.

But Remus's reason for staying became clear enough when, after the room had cleared out as much as it was going to, he asked, "Do we know what Harry's case looks like?" Of course, Lavinia thought, fighting an edge of bitterness in her heart, of course he was here out of concern for Harry. Of course they were going to talk about this more. Of course.

Molly just shook her head, looking, if possible, even more stressed and Arthur sighed. "Really, if they play fair, then the Ministry doesn't have a case to begin with," he admitted.

"Since when does the Ministry play fair," Sirius muttered, a sneer audible in the words and Lavinia was reminded rather forceful that Sirius had been sentenced without a trial. He, of all people, would expect the absolute worst from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement because he had seen the absolute worst of them.

Arthur, whether he knew this or now, just nodded and sighed again. "All they have to do is say there were no dementors and Harry wasn't acting in self defense," he explained, directing the words at Remus, who was frowning slightly, still apparently waiting for his question to be answered. "In which case it's both a violation of under age magic rules and the Statute of Secrecy."

"But even so, the only muggle who saw was his cousin, right?" Remus asked, his frown deepening in evident confusion. "Doesn't that matter? The boy already knew about magic so it's not an issue with the Statute."

Arthur frowned. "You know, I don't know," he admitted, looking contemplative.

"It wouldn't be," Lavinia pitched in, a bit morosely, still studying the wood grain in front of her. Then, when no one answered, she glanced up to find all eyes on her. "If they were his immediate family, it wouldn't be an issue," she clarified, remembering the many texts she had scoured the night before. "But they're a step removed, which makes it tricky. Precedent is mixed on the subject, which from what I could tell, basically means those cases are determined based on mitigating factors. Not that the Ministry is likely to consider any of those in Harry's favor."

The eyes on Lavinia sharpened slightly, a frown of confusion on each face. "When did you become an expert on magical law?" asked Sirius, some strange edge in the words that Lavinia couldn't - or perhaps wouldn't - read.

"Last night, instead of sleeping," she admitted with a shrug, brushing the words away and trying to ignore the worried frown she saw out of the corner of her eye. She was making it up, anyway, she told herself. He didn't seem particularly in the mood to be concerned about her these days and she didn't see why he would start now. "And I wouldn't say I'm an expert," she ploughed on, still not look at Sirius.

"Merlin, Vin," Remus sighed. Sirius, however, didn't say anything to her reply, and Lavinia didn't have the courage to look at him directly.

"What did you learn?" asked Molly, leaning forward slightly, clearly desperate for any information. And Lavinia could have sworn she felt the concern in that look, felt the desperation of a woman who just wanted to be sure that this boy, this almost-son of hers, might have any chance at all.

"The entire case rests on self defense," Lavinia stated rather blandly, realizing perhaps al little late that she might have been better served being gentler. Looking up, however, she found only confusion on Molly's face and added, practically reciting from the book still resting on her lap, "If it's self defense, then he's off the hook. If it isn't, then there's the underage magic issue. If it's his first citation, probably not an issue. If it's his second or more, then it's grounds for suspension if not expulsion, but the Hogwarts Headmaster has discretion. And that's actually the far more minor charge. If they rule a violation of the Statute of Secrecy, then the Ministry follows standard procedure and snaps his wand. But, if we assume self defense is off the table, then whether or not it's a violation of the Statue of Secrecy depends on how they decide to classify his cousin. If it's direct family, he's off the hook, but they aren't. So it's complicated."