Emily Potter - Book 5 - Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 12 - Discipline

Harry and Emily walked out of the courtroom together arm in arm, the heaviness of the trial leaving their shoulders. There was a fair few journalists along with their photographers whom had waited for the twins to come out, but one photographer wearing a bright blue suit ran towards them, taking their picture. Luckily, before Emily could take a hold of his camera and stomp it to pieces on the ground, the security Wizard from earlier had gotten rid of them immediately.

"There's Arthur," Emily said pointing out to the red haired man from across the Ministry lobby, "Let's tell him the good news." The two walked in the direction of Mr. Weasley, seeing the anxious smile on the man's face made Harry remember his pre-hearing jitters earlier that day. Emily stood still and quiet the whole time the two spoke, she merely smiled when Arthur asked all sorts of questions. The last thing she needed was a lecture from anyone saying how foolish and abrupt her actions were, Emily wanted to make sure of it that no one in the order would hear of her part in her brother's trial but seeing that the entire Wizengamot was there to witness her actions, she had certain doubts that her doings wouldn't stay unknown for a long time.

 "Cleared," Harry said, beaming at Arthur, "of all charges!" With a joyous smile on his face, Mr. Weasley seized Harry by the shoulders, "Harry, that's wonderful! Well, of course, they couldn't have found you guilty, not on the evidence, but even so, I can't pretend I wasn't -" But Mr. Weasley broke off, because the courtroom door had just opened again. "Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley wonderingly, pulling the twins aside to let them all pass, "You were tried by the full court?"

"I think so," said Harry quietly, exchanging looks with his sister. One or two of the wizards nodded to Harry and Emily as they passed and a few, including Madam Bones, said, "Morning, Arthur," to Mr. Weasley, but most had avoided their gaze. Cornelius Fudge and the toad like witch were almost the last to leave the dungeon. Fudge acted as though Mr. Weasley and Harry were part of the wall, but again, the witch looked almost appraisingly at Harry as she passed, completely ignoring Emily.

Last of all to pass was Percy. Like Fudge, he completely ignored his father and Harry, including Emily; he marched past clutching a large roll of parchment and a handful of spare quills, his back rigid and his nose in the air. The lines around Mr. Weasleys mouth tightened slightly, but other than this he gave no sign that he had seen his third son. "I'm going to take you straight back so you can tell the others the good news," he said, beckoning Harry forwards as Percy's heels disappeared up the steps to Level Nine. "I'll drop you off on the way to that toilet in Bethnal Green. Come on..."

"So, what will you have to do about the toilet?" Emily asked, grinning. Everything suddenly seemed five times funnier than usual, Harry thought. It was starting to sink in: he was cleared; he was going back to Hogwarts.

"Oh, it's a simple enough anti-jinx," said Mr. Weasley as they mounted the stairs, "but it's not so much having to repair the damage, it's more the attitude behind the vandalism, Emily. Mugglebaiting might strike some wizards as funny, but it's an expression of something much deeper and nastier, and I for one – " Mr. Weasley broke off in mid-sentence.

They had just reached the ninth-level corridor and Cornelius Fudge was standing a few feet away from them, talking quietly to a tall man with sleek blond hair and a pointed, pale face. The second man turned at the sound of their footsteps. He, too, broke off in mid-conversation, his cold grey eyes narrowed and fixed upon Harry's face. "Well, well, well... Patronus Potter," said Lucius Malfoy coolly.